


Cigarettes and Leather

by pamplemousses



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: ;), Badboy au, Comedy, Crime Solving, Drug Use, F/M, Fluff, Some angst, adrien has a gang, adrienette - Freeform, adversaries to friends to lovers, and feelings, and i lied there will be ALOT of pining, badboy!Adrien, cursing, except adrien, hints of pining, reverse love square (kind of??), romance will def happen tho, some characters so far have only been mentioned, they wear school uniforms, this will be a slow-ish burn, unknown romantic attraction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-21
Updated: 2017-08-04
Packaged: 2018-09-19 01:55:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9412664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pamplemousses/pseuds/pamplemousses
Summary: Adrien Agreste, in all his cigarette-scented leather perfection, was the last person Marinette envisioned to face at the base of their collège steps so late in the afternoon, and Adrien likewise.Who knew one chanced meeting could change everything?(Badboy AU in case you didn't read the tags)





	1. Misunderstanding

**Author's Note:**

> *drumrolls* After MONTHS of work and procrastinating on this project, I present to the ml fandom the: Bad Boy AU!!!! I spent so long on this, and lost inspiration for awhile, but I’m happy with how it turned out. This has the potential to be a multi-chapter fic, and it could simply be a one-shot; it just depends on the feedback I get.

A gust of autumn wind sent Marinette’s perfectly groomed pig-tails into a tizzy as she leaned down to smooth the creases in her pleated skirt, holding the heavy fabric in place as to keep the hem from flaring up. With the sudden breeze brought an onslaught of dead leaves, which danced blurry circles around the soles of her sleek character shoes, leaving bits of crumbly, brown substance on her white socks. The female frowned in distaste at the dirtied stockings, but made no move to reach down and dust them off, seeing as she was in the wrong attire to do so. _Plus, it doesn’t matter, seeing as they’re already torn up from Chloe’s daily act of terror._

Marinette let out a discontented sigh.

 _If Alya would hurry up and end her club meeting, I would not be outside right now with soiled socks_ , Marinette thought sourly, shaking her head of the previous conniption and instead turning her head to peek around the banister of the school’s steps for the fourth time that evening. Classes had let out an hour earlier, but Alya had somehow convinced the heroine to wait patiently by the school entrance with promises of coffee and crepes as ‘a reward for her undying loyalty’.

But, she would have willingly agreed to her friend’s request either way, so the café visit was just a bonus.

Marinette tore her gaze from the entrance and stared longingly at the steps instead, the slight ache on the soles of her feet somehow intensifying from the urge to sit down. Despite having a rather thick and clod-like heel for support, uniform shoes were not the best to be standing in for an extended amount of time. Alas, College Dupont was more for prim appearances than comfort, which also meant resting on a surface that was neither clean nor standardized for sitting was strictly prohibited at the risk of damaging ones suit.

If only her uniform’s fabric had the consistency of Ladybug’s indestructible spandex, than she would be happily draped across the concrete bricks without a care in the world.

The outlandish notion brought pulled a frustrated smirk from Marinette’s lips.

Just as she was debating upon whether to send a string of angry texts to Alya about her dilemma, the familiar squeak of doors resounded unceremoniously from the top of the stairs, along with the tell-tale scuffle of feet. _Finally_. Feeling relieved and simultaneously annoyed, the French teen was just about to step out from behind the pillar when another spontaneous gust of wind swept through the courtyard, with more force and bravado than the last.

 _Strange_ , Marinette sniffed the air with vague recognition, _why does it suddenly smell like cigarette smoke? It didn’t before-_

“What the fuck? This damn wind…” The curse sent a jolt of realization up Marinette’s spine, goosebumps peppering her skin in anticipation. She knew exactly who that voice belonged to, and it definitely was not Alya. As to confirm her suspicions, the lass stole a quick glance around banister wall only to be met with a shock of blonde hair and signature leather wind-breaker.

Or rather, Adrien Agreste’s slicked banana locks and symbolic cow-leather jacket, pressed and worn to near perfection.

From what the female could gather from the scant glance in his direction, Adrien was sorrowfully out of dress code; instead of showcasing the usual school garb, neat vanilla slacks accompanied with a white button-up and navy blazer, he wore fashionably ripped jeans, a white V-neck, and of course his leather jacket. To top his look off, Marinette swore she saw the shiny glint of piercings behind his mess of curls. If it was anyone else who chose to completely disregard Dupont policy, Mr. Damocles would have already sent the student home with a formal letter of dismissal and a list of boarding schools for the parent to pick from.  Or so she used to rationalize.

Being the sole son of a famous fashion icon, as well as the future inheritor to his vast empire of modeling agencies and clothing stores had its perks.  

Because Adrien was the only offspring of Gabriel Agreste, a ruthless fashion mongrel that would do anything to keep his namesake as squeaky clean as the marble floor he walks on, Mr. Damocles tended to turn a blind eye on any of the misdeeds he committed on school grounds. This special treatment extended to his loyal following of lackeys, which was comprised of Nino Lahiffe, Ivan Bruell, and Le Chien Kim. No matter what the band of thugs did, the worst punishment they got was after school detention; nothing more, but nothing less.

Among the students and staff, it was almost an unspoken rule to ignore whatever trouble Adrien’s gang stirred up. Always look the other way, avoid making eye contact; simply leave the general area, if need be. The situation is similar to that of a wasp: leave it alone, and no one gets stung.

Then again, Ladybug was never one to leave well enough alone.

It was safe to say that Marinette and Adrien knew each other quite well.

The slap of quick, heavy footsteps on the concrete above broke Marinette’s train of thought, causing her to flinch. She looked up just in time to see Adrien pull out a box of gitanes from his jacket pocket as he cleared the last tread of the school’s staircase, lighter already in hand. He was standing so close that she could see the way his knuckles shook when he brought the flame close to his face and burned the tip of the tobacco stick. She watched him take a long drag from the cigarette, observing the way his shoulders slumped from loss of tension as he did. After releasing the smoke from his mouth, Adrien cast a sidelong glance to his surroundings in disinterest, stilling when he saw her.

A devilish grin spread on his lips.

“ _Hello_ pretty lady.” Adrien tilted his head in an alluring manner, turning his body to face her. “Didn’ expect to see you here…”

“Hello Adrien.” Marinette’s tone was dry, and the cautionary look she cast in his direction was even more so. She didn’t like that he stepped closer to her, nor appreciated the way his verdant eyes slowly traveled down her body as he did. “Just leaving school, I see.”

“Well, I _was_ planning to get the hell away from here…,” He pronounced each word with precision, practically purring, “…until I saw you.”

Marinette’s grip on her messenger bag tightened, suddenly hyper conscious of a snoozing Tikki hidden among the folds of fabric.

Wonderful.

Just wonderful.

“Well, you saw me, so I think you can leave now.” She didn’t try to mask the spite in her voice as she took a tiny step away from the offending body who was more than missing the concept of ‘personal space’.

“Aww, you’re no fun at all.” Adrien flashed another impossibly white grin. “I’ll only leave when you leave, darlin’.”

“That’s creepy, Adrien.”

“No, I’m just being a gentleman. Can’t let a pretty lady like you walk home alone now, can we?”

There was a pause as Adrien took another long drag from his cig.

Marinette secretly wished she could slap the cancer stick from his hand.

“Sorry to bruise your ego, but I’m already waiting for someone.”

The male’s gaze hardened as she admitted to this, glancing up towards the entrance above them.

“Oh yeah? Who?” Adrien coughed, trying and failing to blow the smoke out through his nostrils in a timely manner. It was obvious he was more than a little annoyed at her rejection, and Marinette took great pleasure in this.

“Alya.”

Adrien stiffened at the mention of her fiery best friend, probably recalling all the times Alya had kicked his ass without getting caught. She had the reputation of being as quick and cunning as a fox, always managing to slip away before the falling action of a troublesome situation. It was well-known that she was the only individual in the school that Adrien actively avoided causing beef with, in addition to the fact that it would cause bad blood between him and Nino, Alya’s boyfriend.

“Well, I don’t see her, so I’ll wait with ya til’ she comes.” Came his delayed response, his stare clearly taunting ‘ _just because you mentioned her doesn’t mean you can get rid of me so easily_ ’.

Marinette knew there was no arguing with him, so she decided to let it go.

“Fine, but only if you stop blowing that damn smoke in my face. My parents will think I’ve taken to smoking and have a heart-attack at this rate.” They locked eyes for a moment, and the female couldn’t help but notice how they softened negligibly when he looked at her. She found herself flushing when he suddenly smirked, drawing attention to his lips.

“Deal.” He quickly conceded to the stipulation, her action not going unpunished when he leaned on the pillar beside her form and brushed their shoulders together. Marinette cursed him and his dumb, handsome face for making her react like such a school girl.

So, without saying anything for a few minutes, they waited.

It was a strange feeling, admittedly, because moments like this between them seemed to only happen outside of school (and even then, it was usually banter or passive-aggressive small talk).  

In school, Marinette and Adrien only ever spoke when he caused trouble and she just happened to be there to resolve it. He didn’t really bully people so much as just messed with them, or toyed with them for lack of a better word. It reminded her of a game of cat and mouse, lithe but ruthless in his patronizing actions. But, what he did aggravated people enough to earn him the slanderous term of ‘bad boy’. In hindsight, it seemed Adrien more liked to rebel against the school and its overzealous principles, and more often than not bystanders got in his way. At least he wasn’t as bad as Chloe Bourgeois, who took being an aggressive and harmful nuisance as a personal challenge. Marinette shivered involuntarily, mind conjuring up images of that morning’s particular cruelty where Chloe had ‘accidentally’ tripped her while going down the classroom steps, successfully tearing both her thin stockings on the waxy floors.

Adrien saw this and frowned quizzically.

“What is it? Are you cold?” His frown segued into a suave smile, the smell of cigarettes more prominent in their close proximity. “Because if you are, feel free to lean on me for warmth, darlin’.”

Marinette snorted. There was no way she would ever tell him this, but since he was blocking the cold wind with his frame she was much warmer than before.

“As if, you greaser! And I’m not cold, I just thought of something unpleasant, that’s all…” She trailed off, thoughtlessly staring down at her ruined socks. Adrien followed her gaze and furrowed his fair brows.

“I don’t care if ya answer me or not, but did Chloe do that to you?” Adrien tried to act indifferent, hiding his concern with a puff of his dwindling cig. _Cute._

“…yeah.” Was all she said in return, perturbed by her previous epiphany. _Where the heck did that come from? They weren’t even that close, save for banter, if not slightly hostile banter at that._

Adrien blew out air between his teeth, and for the first time that afternoon, it didn’t contain smoke. She couldn’t classify it as a sigh, but more of a frustrated outtake of air. There was movement in her peripheral vision, and the heroine secretly watched as the blonde heartthrob seared his cigarette butt into the bumpy concrete wall, dropping it to the ground so he could crush the ashes beneath his heel. 

“I’m sorry.” He apologized suddenly, turning to face her but still leaning on the stair banister. Marinette looked up at him sharply, shocked and unprepared for something so uncharacteristic to leave his mouth. Scanning his face, she found no hint of a joking smile, or even the solace of those beautiful emerald orbs crinkling in unkempt mirth.

_Is he serious?_

“For what?” Marinette replied thickly, eyes traveling down his disheveled but dashing figure. One hand was shoved in his jacket pocket while the other was curled in on itself, the skin enveloped by the fingernails starting to reddened from the pressure. “You didn’t do anything to me.”

_Where did this even come from?_

“I know, but…ugh!” Adrien turned and spit onto the pavement, causing Marinette to jump back in surprise. “Chloe can be such a bitch sometimes!”

Wait. Blinking rapidly, the teen careened her head to the side, disbelieving of what she was hearing.  The wind picked up again and stirred the exposed ends of her pig-tails, which blew a clump of raven locks over her eyes and mouth. Normally, Marinette would immediately tuck the loose strands of hair behind her ear, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care at that moment.

Was Adrien apologizing on Chloe’s behalf because he felt… _guilty?_

“Are you…actually saying sorry to me for earlier?” Marinette asked, unable to keep the incredulity from her voice.

“Are you fuckin’ dumb? Of course I am!” Adrien looked directly into her eyes as he said this, something raw and fleeting flickering on his features. In one fell swoop, she felt her body heat up beneath the clusters of freckles on her cheeks and shoulders; whether it was from the anger he evicted at his rude statement or the flattery she felt bloom in her chest at the thoughtful gesture remained a mystery.

This was too strange.

No, _he_ was too strange.

“But you never apologize for your actions, let alone on behalf for anyone else in your gang!” Marinette blurted out without thinking. She couldn’t help herself, but it was the truth. Chloe had done far worse deeds to their fellow classmates in the past than she had to Marinette this morning, and Adrien knew it.

Adrien shifted his stance, rubbing the sides of his leather jacket together as he did. His body language screamed defensive, but his expression betrayed otherwise.

“And?” He looked away, keeping his tone carefully even, “…she trashed your socks, so someone needed to do it and Chloe sure as hell wasn’t going to.”

_Oh._

_OH._

_He didn’t say sorry because to you because he felt bad, but only did it because he felt obligated._

Marinette felt her face crumple into a frown, suddenly feeling cold. Of course Adrien Agreste would never do this on a whim of integrity, but rather only if it was necessary. He most likely got conned into doing this by Chloe herself, which made more sense than it should have; who could turn down a pretty face with pretty words? It was silly of her to hope for some semblance of sincerity and kindness in a person who never indicated to have any to begin with.

“…I see.” Crestfallen and upset at herself, Marinette turned away. The situation had left a bad taste in her mouth, and now all she wanted to do was go home. “Well, tell Chloe that she owes me a new pair of stockings or else I’ll tell Mr. Damocles about what happened.”

Adrien, noticing the hostile tone of voice she took on, finally faced her again. He seemed surprised at the look of hurt she wore on her facial expression, as if he wasn’t acutely aware of the gravity and implication his words had.

She scowled at him and swiveled on her heel to leave.

“Wait, Marinette, that’s not what I meant-” He began to say, leaves crunching under his boots as he attempted to step forward. But, Marinette held out a hand to stop him in his tracks, daring a glance over her shoulder to stare him in the eyes.

“No, no, don’t bother. I understand perfectly what you meant, _Agreste_. No need to explain further.” The whole reason he stayed behind was not to keep her company while she waited for Alya, but simply to offer her a half-assed apology in hopes of compensating for the damage done to her feelings and socks.

_God, I’m so stupid._

“I’m leaving.” The heroine spat, briskly walking away.

“No, wait-”

“ _Goodbye_ , Adrien.”

“I said stop, dammit, just hear me out!”

A strong hand encircled her wrist from behind, and Marinette wasted no time in reacting. With the agility of Ladybug, she wrenched free of his grasp, grabbing both his forearms in the process. Then, she spun around to his blindside while knocking her left calf into the backs of his kneecaps, shoving the rough material of his jacket sleeves in between the blades of his shoulders.

“Hey!” He grunted, losing his balance.

Adrien was on his knees in an instant, a scuffed character shoe pinning both of his heels down with the brute force of an agitated akuma. He may have been taller, and had more muscle built, but size and muscle did not equal strength.

And while Marinette may lack in size and muscle, strength was something she had in excess.

“What the-…what the fuck?! How did you…” Adrien floundered, a little more than disoriented from the last ten seconds.

“Touch me again and I’ll make that pretty face of yours taste dirt.” Marinette hissed uncharacteristically, her anger getting the better of her.

“Where did you even learn to…no that’s not important right now-”

 She stared icily at the mess of blonde curls beneath her nose, lips working faster than her brain. “And next time Chloe sends you to do her bidding, at least had the decency not to say so, asshole-”

“ _Marinette!_ ”

“ _What?!_ ” His interruptions were getting on her nerves, and she was tempted to go through with the previous threat.

“Calm the hell down for a second and listen to me!” Adrien rushed to say, wiggling in her grip. It was almost comical to watch him struggle before the teen realized where they were and released him without saying otherwise.

“I already did.” She watched him pick himself off the ground, roughly swiping at the concrete bits that accumulated on the fabric of his no-doubt expensive jeans.

“Well, tough luck toots’, you get to listen again.” Adrien snapped, causing her to flinch. Presumably, he was probably not too happy with what transpired not even three minutes ago.

“Excuse me?” She gave him a look of warning, and he relented. The tense lines around his face relaxed, easing into a plain but attractive frown.

“What I meant was…well, what I said before…I didn’t mean to say that.” He faltered for a moment, and Marinette raised an eyebrow at him.

“Then what did you mean to say, Adrien?” Cobalt and emerald locked together for the umpteenth time that afternoon, both refusing to blink. Adrien pushed both of his hands into his jacket pockets, slouching into his hips as he leaned heavily on one leg. _Is he nervous?_

“I…I didn’t apologize because Chloe told me to…” He mumbled, quickly averting his eyes. “I did it because I wanted to and…I felt bad when I saw the look on your face when everyone laughed at you.”

_Oh._

Marinette flashed back to that morning, recalling the embarrassment she felt as she stood on wobbly legs and continued on her way to their next class. Alya had stayed behind to grill Chloe and Sabrina for their cruel prank, probably curious as to why Marinette chose to say nothing in return for once. 

She cogitated over his response, clearly not ready for what he said next.

“I’m sorry, Marinette. I’ll make sure to talk to Chloe so she doesn’t do that again.” There was no stutter, no pause in-between words; this time, she could tell he meant it.

And best of all, Adrien Agreste was _blushing_.

“Thank you, Adrien.” Marinette smiled without meaning to, cheeks flush from what she was now sure was flattery.

She continued to smile at him, her mind a melting pot of thoughts.

His face was still tinted pink, and his expression was akin to that of embarrassment from her unexpected praise. He almost looked vulnerable, which was very much unlike the usual intimidating image he projected to those around him. To Marinette, his attire seemed wrong for the kind of attitude he was presenting at that moment. Not even his scruffy handsome-ness framed right on the outline of his jaw.

The Adrien Agreste that stood before her was not the same Adrien Agreste she saw a few minutes prior.

“What? ‘The fuck you lookin’ at me like that?” Adrien noticed her staring, and frowned childishly. Even his cursing sounded out of place.

“It’s nothing.” She replied, shaking her head. Her pig-tails bounced in place, but settled behind her shoulders once more. “I was just thinking that-”

The tell-tale vibration of Marinette’s phone caught both of their attention, and all at once the new Adrien ceased to exist.

Disappointment bloomed in her chest, but Marinette undid the clasp on her bag anyway, groping around in the pocket until she felt her phone. She was all too aware of the gaze Adrien pinned on her as she unlocked the screen and skimmed over the dozens of notifications.

_Alya: hey girl sorry the meeting went on so long_

_Alya: juleka had taken so many good pictures for the newspaper that no one could agree on a cover photo_

_Alya: omw now;)_

Marinette didn’t bother to reply, but instead looked up at Adrien apologetically.

“Is she coming now?” He asked, eyes unreadable.

Nodding, Marinette fidgeted with her phone.

“Yeah, but I don’t think she will be happy seeing you with me, so, uhm…” She felt awkward asking him to leave, but Alya would throw nothing less than a conniption fit if she saw Adrien standing so close to her, let alone casually chatting like they were old pals. Adrien, seeming to understand, nodded knowingly in return.

“I get it. I was supposed to meet with my agent earlier anyway, but father is used to my tardiness.” He smirked to himself, and Marinette could only wonder how private the joke was for him.

“It was, uhm, nice talking to you.” She supplied stiffly, inwardly cringing at her social ineptness. Adrien had already begun to back away; she watched him as he reached into his pants pocket to retrieve what she surmised to be the keys to his car.

“You too, darling’.” He chuckled at her reaction to the nickname, and the designer swore she saw some trace of a genuine smile in the midst of his teasing.

Before he melded into the chaos of the streets, Adrien called to her behind his shoulder.

“Next time we meet, you should tell me what you were thinking. I’m curious.” For once he didn’t speak with a rough dialect, and she immediately found his normal accent to be charming.

Marinette studied his leather-clad figure as it disappeared around the corner, a plethora of emotions stirring inside her heart. Without thinking, she sniffed the air for any trace of a familiar scent. _His scent._

She stopped once she heard the school doors squeak open from above, satisfied in her discovery as she turned to greet Alya.

It still smelled of cigarettes and leather.


	2. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette and Adrien have a chance to spend more one on one time with each other, but it comes with a price.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOw so this took a lot longer than I thought it would, but here it is! This chapter is more about establishing some base plot and padding the personalities of Adrien and Marinette all the while giving each of them a more defined role in the relationship they share. Like I said, this will be a slow-ish burn so its not like I’ll have them all over each other in the span of a chapter (but that don’t mean stuff can’t happen inbetween).
> 
> Enjoy!

Marinette bounced uncomfortably in the Victorian styled arm-chair she currently occupied, refusing to acknowledge the almost languid male sitting diagonal of the desk in front of them. Although they had been called into Mr. Damocles office at the exact same time via intercom, Adrien had shuffled into the room a few minutes after her; the strong fragrance of cigarettes still clung to his person as he settled heavily into the twin chair beside her.

She could still feel the ghost of her pinched face when he had first walked in smelling like a cigarette factory (although the scent had died down considerably since then).

Marinette sighed for what had to be the billionth time in her young life.

She could tell he was watching her from the corner of his eye, every so often sliding his gaze over her figure in hopes of catching her attention. Instead of humoring him and his little game, she instead focused all her energy in studying the countless re-scaled drawings of owls decorating the walls of their room, attempting to look extremely interested in the symbolic gesture of knowledge that each framed piece of art represented.

_Wisdom and Common Sense…something I failed to maintain yesterday before my anger got the best of me._

They had been in there for an estimate of ten minutes, yet M. Damocles had been watching them in complete silence the entire time, occasionally typing something into his tablet. In fact, the only reaction they received from him was an occasional sigh when Adrien no doubt had made some kind of gesture in his direction ( _the dumbass, he was going to get them in deeper trouble_ ). She nearly jumped out her skin when she felt Adrien bump his foot with hers, chuckling when she turned beet red at the strange look they gained from the principle.

But, it wasn’t like she could help her reaction; Mr. Damocles was just naturally the type of person one could not help but feel anxious to be around.

No matter how badly Marinette wanted to approach the subject of their misconduct, she was terrified of what would flood from her mouth if she dared to speak directly to such a reproachful adult. Their principle just _exuded_ the aura that he knew all, and once you got talking to him, it was incredibly difficult to stop until all your secrets were laid on the desk up front for him to inspect and sort out.

With all the pictures of owls on his walls, he reminded her of one most of all just because he acted so wise. Even the most enduring person in their school could not resist his heavily pressured silence and aged, but cold stare.

Out of nowhere, Mr. Damocles gave them both a scare as he laid his tablet on the desk with a little of a too forceful _thump_ , now staring straight ahead at both of them with his infamous no-nonsense glare.

He suddenly didn’t look so old and worn anymore, his orange eyes hardening with the resolution of a young admirable. Stiffening, Marinette chanced a side glance in her classmate’s general direction only to find that even Adrien started a bit at the change in hid demeanor, shifting in his chair uncomfortably and coughing to hide his expression of trepidation.

Marinette has never seen Mr. Damocles give Adrien that glare, or at least a look of such authoritative intensity.

Her disquiet only intensified when he fixated that same glare on her, worse than the one he had given to Adrien.

“U-Uh sir, I can explain…if you-…or not?” Marinette began out of pure panic, feeling heat travel up the back of her neck from anxiety. This only caught the attention of their principle even more, raising his bushy, grey eyebrows that indicated a silent dare to continue. _I fucked up. I shouldn’t have done that._

After a few moments of deliberation, she clamped down on her bottom lip to keep from making any other sound.

Satisfied that he had both of their undivided attention, Mr. Damocles delved into his lecture.

“Mme. Dupain-Cheng and M. Agreste…do you know why you’re both here with when you’re supposed to be in class, getting an education?” Mr. Damocles stroked his beard thoughtfully, or so she thought. Maybe it was just him demonstrating who was in charge here.

“Yes, sir-”

“Was it because of yesterday?” Adrien quickly interjected her response, sounding begrudgingly respectful despite not using an honorific after the question. The principle gave him a pointed look, narrowing his eyes in careful calculation.

Marinette could have smacked Adrien on the mouth for that one, filing the thought on her mental checklist for later.

Mr. Damocles, with eyes still narrowed, nodded as an answer before continuing.

“What happened yesterday between you two was unacceptable behavior, but even more so because it was on school property. I am very disappointed in you both, and you especially Mme. Dupain-Cheng.” The heroine felt her stomach plummet in shame, and stared down at the patterned carpet to avoid seeing her own disgrace reflected in his gaze. As Ladybug, she couldn’t help but feel like she failed France in some way for being on the receiving end of a punishment.

_I’m supposed to be a role model for all the people who look to Ladybug for inspiration, but here I am now, getting scolded by an adult._

“From what I saw on the cameras, I understand M. Agreste was the one who instigated the incident but you, Mme. Dupain-Cheng, escalated it to an act of violence. Violence against another student is prohibited here, as expressed in your Dupont Policy Student-Handbook.” She knotted her hands in her lap, feeling even worse as he said it out loud.

_Maybe I can balance out the bad deed with a good deed? Like make night patrols longer…_

“I am not permitted to question where you learned such an offensive technique, but I am legally required to ask this of M. Agreste-” Marinette was only half-listening by then, lost in thought.

_I could do that, but how would I explain why I want to make them longer to Chat Noir without telling him what happened?_

“…would you like your parent or guardian to press charges against Mme. Dupain-Cheng for her actions?” He said it so nonchalantly, like it was just an everyday query, that she almost missed the weight of the words.

Almost.

_What did he just say?_

“…?” For once, she was speechless.

She whipped quickly around in her seat to stare at Adrien, dread clawing at the back of her throat. He, too, looked surprised at the offer, but his sculpted features smoothed over into a look of cogitation. His jade eyes met her pleading gaze, the mischievous glimmer in them dimming a marginal amount.

_WHAT THE HELL?_

Honestly, Marinette would not put it beneath the pampered brat to sue her parents for all they were worth, just to have something entertaining to do when he wasn’t off terrorizing the city with his posse or spending his father’s money. What transpired between them yesterday may have put them on a more personable level with each other, but not to where they were ‘buddies’.

The entirety of the situation hit her like a freight train, and not the good kind of impactful feeling.

Marinette was on her feet so fast that the room went out of focus for a few moments, and she had to squeeze her eyes shut to keep her surroundings from swirling.

How could he really just ask Adrien ‘ _No Fucks Given_ ’ Agreste that question?

“M. Damocles, you can’t be serious! He laid his hands on me first, so I had a good reason for my ‘actions’!” The principle flinched at her unanticipated outburst, tensing his shoulders in a way that made it look like he was warning off an attack.

Or, in his case, an angry teenage girl.

“Mme. Dupain-Cheng, I understand where your anger comes from, but what you did was unjustified. He merely grabbed your wrist, whereas you-” Mr. Damocles began calmly, lacing his fingers together to rest on surface of the tablet he had been using up until then. But, before he could, Marinette slammed the palms of her hands on his desk with the unintentional force of Ladybug; her eyes blazed with blue fire, burning holes into the man in front of her.

“I was defending myself! I didn’t know if he would stop at grabbing my wrist, or if he would have done something worse!” Vibrations rattled across the wooden frame of the table, and even Marinette could feel the force of the tremors in the floor beneath their feet. Realizing her mistake, the look of spite on her face quickly dissipated into one akin of disbelief and regret.

Mr. Damocles almost appeared fearful for a few moments, before an expression of stone grated into his facial features. She felt herself flinch under such a harsh gaze, simultaneously aware of the emerald stare drilling into her back with surprise and curiosity.

“Damn Marinette.” She heard Adrien mutter under his breath, as she was provoked into a staring contest with their principle.

“I suggest you take a seat again _, Marinette_ , before I issue a punishment worse than the one I planned on giving you two.” The adult commanded in a quiet tone, closing his eyes and relaxing his shoulders. _Ouch_ , she thought to herself, embarrassed. _He used my first name…_

Marinette bowed her head apologetically, and complied with his request without another word.

_Tikki is going to **kill** me for this one. _

Silence ensued for a full minute before Adrien decided he had the balls to speak up.

“Uh, yeah, hey? Just wanted ta’ let you guys know I don’t have any interest in pressin’ charges against the pretty lady beside me.” Adrien spoke informally to their principle, earning a sharp glare in return for his lazy dialect but also a look of poorly concealed relief at his concession. Marinette didn’t have it in her to feel offended at the rather, _ahem_ , flattering nickname.

Oh no, she had bigger issues now…

“Well, isn’t that good news, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng? No need to panic after all.” He smiled complacently, nodding to the both of them.

_Oh my god, I’m an idiot._

Marinette felt like slinging herself into the sun at her over exaggerated reaction. _Well, partially over exaggerated; hitting the desk could have been avoided._

She just nodded robotically, staring nervously into her hands. Their principle would never see her as the ‘good student’ again.

“Monsieur, if you don’t mind me asking…what is our punishment?” She asked without looking up, instead peeking at Adrien through the curtain of her bangs. Of course, he had already been looking at her for quite some time, so their eyes ended up meeting in mutual expectation of…well, _something_.

“Excellent question, _mon cher_! Since Mr. Agreste has so graciously decided not to press charges against you, or even the school for that matter, I contend the both of you to attend a special unit after school for the rest of the week from the time that class ends to 6:30. Mme. Bustier will surely find something to keep you two busy.” His words pressed down on Marinette like a dumbbell in comparison to the airy feather tone of voice he suddenly took on.

 _Petty man, he did that on purpose ,_ She couldn’t help but think angrily to herself, glad that the principle missed the scathing look that crossed her face meant solely for him.

Just then the afternoon bell chimed over the intercom, filling the small room with a sound that indicated it was lunch break _(finally)_.

Not even a few seconds had passed before she felt someone gently grip her forearm, pull her up from her seat, and made to stand on shaky knees. Marinette’s hands went instinctively to her purse before she realized it was Adrien who had put them both on their feet, obviously ready to leave.

“Well, if we’re done here, M. Damocles, we would _love_ to be excused to lunch.” Adrien offered a polite, but dazzling smile at the adult, showing off the entire top row of his pearly whites. He almost seemed friendly, but Marinette knew better; it was just a rouse to get them the hell out of there before the principle could assign a worse punishment then a special unit discipline class.

“Yes, yes, you may now leave. I trust you will both attend the after school classes without fail.” Mr. Damocles was already typing away at his tablet once again, as if he had never ceased the action in the first place.

“Yes, monsieur.” They both said in unison, and Marinette felt herself backing away before fully turning to face the door to leave, hyper aware of a firm hand guiding them both towards their exit.

Once they were both outside the office, Adrien took his hand off her arm and turned on his heel to stare her square in the eyes.

She didn’t like the dangerous smile spreading on his lips.

“Well, that was probably the damn funniest meeting I’ve had with the old man in a fuck while.” Adrien let out a chuckle, amusement dancing in his forest eyes as he looked at her like she was some type of open book to flip through and indulge every word written down on her pages. A shiver ran down her spine at that thought, a little intimidated by the fact that he might be doing just that.

“Maybe for you, Adrien. I was so disrespectful to him, more so then you. I’m surprised he didn’t call my parents then and there.” Marinette was sure that’s who he was emailing as they left, and she was sure as the grass was green there would a punishment waiting for her at home as soon as she walked through their bakery entrance. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone else besides myself slam his desk like that. It was pretty damn cool of you.” Adrien gave her an almost appraising look, causing all previous thoughts of her impending punishment to vanish. She felt a blush settle on her cheeks at the strange compliment, an almost giddy sensation tugging at her stomach.

“I-If you say so.” She tried to summon her past feelings of anger towards him for getting them into this entire mess, but it was to no avail. If there was one thing Marinette couldn’t do (especially with her other persona being Ladybug), it was holding a grudge. _Chloe being the exception._

They had both began their almost awkward trudge back to class, the tension in the air somewhat tangible as memories of yesterday played over freshly in their thoughts. Their footsteps were drowned out by the sound of noisy third years and second years flying past them to either crowd on the lunch benches outside the entrance or race home to eat. One of the poor premières turned the corner on the stairs a little ways ahead and ran smack into Adrien, who in return loudly cursed at the poor sap before he told them “get the hell out of his sight”. Marinette hadn’t realized she stopped to wait for him until he glanced up from smoothing out his leather jacket, smirking slightly.

“You know, ya never did finish tellin’ me what you were thinking yesterday darlin’.” Adrien began walking again, theatrically propelling himself around the handrail on the bottom of the first floor staircase till he was a good five steps above her. Marinette felt herself visibly bristle at his sudden inclination, dark eyebrows knitting together in disbelief. _How could he even remember?_

A little voice in the back of her head was telling her to remain indifferent with this oncoming conversation, and Marinette was never one to disregard her instincts.

“Why are you so interested?” He would definitely laugh out loud if she told him she didn’t think he was that bad of a person. Maybe it was fate that Alya interrupted them so she wouldn’t have to bear the embarrassment of telling Paris’s most renown delinquent that “he was a pretty swell guy, you know, if you ignored his criminal record”.

_Yeah, right._

“I like to know what cute girls with pig-tails think of me.” More students rushed by them, but this time they were people their age who knew Adrien’s face all too well. A wide girth of space was quickly created with the flow of terminales speeding down the steps as to avoid the un-fortuity of bumping into them.

“Then go ask Lila if you want a nice opinion.” She replied hotly, face pinking at his obvious reference to her appearance. It was a half lie-half truth, because her opinion wasn’t exactly _tactful_ , but Lila’s was sure to be flattering. She was going to say something else to him, but a few familiar faces from her advanced art class passed by them on their way so she waved to them instead.

By the time they reached the top of the stairs to the second floor—dedicated only to terminales—the warning bell had rung to indicate lunch time had officially begun.

“Lila flirts with me all the damn time, so what she has t’say is irrelevant.” Adrien made a point of walking directly besides her as they came into view of their homeroom, attention focused solely on their continued conversation. “I want to know yours.”

“Ask me later, and maybe I’ll tell you.” Marinette could feel the left side of her pig-tail catching on the static material of his jacket, which meant he was far closer to her than anticipated. This was not to mention that the scent of cigarettes and leather were overpowering her nostrils to the point where she felt like she was suffocating.

_Is the air warmer now or is it just me?_

“Or you can tell me now, darling’.” Those nicknames of his were really starting to rub her the wrong way. Whether it was the good kind of wrong or the right kind of wrong, she couldn’t tell.

“Stop bothering me about it already, or I won’t tell you at all.” They were a few paces away from the door, so hopefully their little discussion that mostly brought her annoyance with the world up a few notches would end as soon as she opened it.

Marinette had been reaching for the door handle when Adrien leaned over and whispered to her in a way that caused her to freeze up on the spot.

“Fine, then I’ll just assume its somethin’ dirty for now.” He said this almost huskily, but that could have also been all the cigarettes he’d smoked until then catching up to his voice. Marinette, with a defensive protest already spry on her lips, did a three-sixty on her heels only to meet two vibrant green eyes filled with sly contempt.

She scrunched her nose in distaste, the freckled skin on the bridge of her nose pinching together.

_Tricky bastard._

If anyone passing by noticed how Adrien leaned down to level with Marinette’s irritated scowl, or saw the way his the corners of his mouth pulled into an easy smirk while his hands went to rest in his jacket pocket, no one dared to breath a word of it.

“It’s the opposite of what you’re thinking, so don’t flatter yourself.” Marinette rushed to say, hands fiddling with the strap of her satchel purse in a nervous tick. _Stop fidgeting, Marinette._

“Then just tell me already, and I’ll stop pesterin’ you.” His expression said ‘asshole’ but his tone of voice gave away his own curiosity. The lilt in his voice almost reminded her of the different side of Adrien Agreste she had witnessed yesterday, .

Her thoughts immediately softened as she briefly recalled how bashful that Adrien was. She wished he would act like that all the time so he would at least form better relationships with the people in their class (and maybe even her).

Marinette really did like that side of him much better than the front he put up.

_Maybe if I tell him now, he’ll—_

Loud, harsh laughter that came from within the classroom bombarded her eardrums, disrupting her train of thought. Following the sharp noise was a series of indecipherable conversations that sounded like words of disproval.

Albeit it was muffled, the heroine knew just who the laugh belonged to, and what the sounds of refute meant.

“If I tell you, than you have to promise not to speak to me in class about it. I think Chloe would have a fit if she saw me talking to you like this.” Upon hearing the voices of her classmates resonate from inside the room, Marinette decided it would be best to just tell him now so she wouldn’t catch more hell for it later.

  _God knows I’m already in enough trouble, I don’t need more from a certain someone._

“You shouldn’t give two shits about what she thinks, but I’ll take the deal.” Adrien nodded, straightening up again. There was a small look of boyish triumph relaying across his face, and Marinette couldn’t help but think he looked scruffily cute.

_His scowl may make him look handsome, but when he is not trying to scare everyone he almost looks normal._

“Since you want to know so bad, I’ll just say it outright.” Marinette breathed in a little, banishing the thoughts from her head all the while steeling herself from the laugh that was granted to follow the confession.

“I was just going to tell you that after what happened yesterday, I don’t think you’re such a bad person.” She quirked her mouth into a wry smile. “Quite the opposite, actually. It’s nice to know you have a sweet side.”

_There. I said it._

Marinette peered earnestly at him with baited breath, waiting for him to let out an incredulous chuckle and maybe even scoff at her interpretation.

Instead, she was greeted with a completely deadpan expression.

Or rather, a face that attached to a male who didn’t know how to react.

Adrien absentmindedly took out his lighter and started fiddling with the cap, fingers ghosting over the ignition spring. It seemed like it was a nervous tick of his, or at least an action that indicated he was feeling unrestful. His green eyes, which were now partially shaded by his mess of gold hair, shifted away from her face and to something in the distance behind her, but Marinette didn’t sense anyone approaching them.

“You didn’t think I was capable of being nice up until then, huh?” Adrien said after a good long moment of deliberation. “Interesting.” He almost appeared upset by the revelation.

_Was he upset with her over **that**? Really??_

“What do you mean? I meant it as a compliment, sense you always seem so…you know, you do have a reputation of upsetting anyone who talks to you besides your clique.” In her defense, his people skills were not the best in world, or at least from what she has seen so far. On top of that, the bad choices he makes does not really help the kind of impression people get when they see him and know about what he has done through rumors spread around.

Adrien merely shrugged, grunting with what she surmised to be a half-assed noise of agreement.

“I guess you’re right.”

“I was trying to compliment you, Adrien, I swear.”

“I get it, dammit. You don’t have to keep saying that.

“I just don’t want you to misunderstand.”

“Hm, Gotcha toots.” He wasn’t even looking at her by then, but instead began to turn away even though their classroom was right there.

_Oh no, he’s pissed._

Marinette bit her lip, perplexed but also slightly annoyed at how he took her intended compliment. Yeah, she guessed it was a _little_ rude for someone of is personality, but he couldn’t really deny it either. Plus, he got offended a bit too easily for someone of his background (seriously, what is his deal?).

As Adrien started to walk away, a package of cigarettes already in his hand, Marinette called out to him.

“Where are you going?” She asked, despite the obvious.

“To smoke.” He didn’t even pause, or look at her.

“But class is right here. You need to check in with Mrs. Bustier.” Even Marinette felt silly for her flimsy excuse to continue their previous conversation as she said it, and Adrien wasn’t going to hear it.

“Oh fuckin’ well, she can wait. See yah later, darlin’.” His voice carried over the sound of a door behind her opening, but the female didn’t even flinch when she felt the door bump her in the hip. Everything happened so fast, Marinette didn’t even know what to think.

“Oooh~ Adrikins! I knew I heard your voice out here! Wait up!” Chloe cooed in a honey-sweet voice, blatantly pushing Marinette aside to chase after his receding figure. She watched the _very_ short skirt Chloe had on wave in the breeze she created as she caught up to him, latching onto his arm like some parasite.

 _How fitting._ Marinette thought gloomily. _For Chloe to show up and make me feel worse with just her presence._

She continued to feel strangely disappointed even as she entered the classroom and was greeted warmly by her friends, the interaction she had with Adrien replaying over and over in her head for the rest of the lunch hour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never said they would get along like old pals immediately. They’re still young and dumb, and Adrien won’t be like an under-sensitive 'greaser'. He has feelings too, and Marinette is known to say the wrong things to people *cough*like all the time in the show*cough*. Anyways, expect stuff and pining in the next chapter. Thanks for reading ;) please comment if you liked the chapter and i'll love you forever.


	3. Definitely Doable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien Agreste does, in fact, have a heart. And it does a good job at being an asshole. (which is redundant, because that is exactly what Plagg is for!)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back from the dead, everyone! Hip hip hurray! I apologize for the long wait, I got caught up in testing, school, and family stuff (did you know I just had a birthday? wild I'm getting old). 
> 
> Btw, I'm??? Honestly? ? So amazed at the wonderful feedback I've gotten so far from you guys, it makes it all worth it. Thank you, so much. 
> 
> This chapter is from Adrien's POV, like many of you had asked for. This is the final character fodder I will implement, because from here on it will just be dorks and shenanigans (and drama of course!)
> 
> Oh, I forgot to mention, but my tumblr is marinette-sky if any of you are interested!

The chatter of students and the accustomed sounds of nature filled Adrien’s ears as he held the recently lit cigarette between his teeth, inhaling deeply despite the unpleasant feeling that prickled the back of his throat as a result. He blew out lazily, watching past the dispersing smog with a glazed stare until the fence that separated the school from the public and the blue hue of the sky melded together into a single entity. Somewhere in the background, Plagg was mumbling insults from the small amount of camembert he received from the little container hidden in Adrien’s jacket pocket, but he couldn’t have cared less.

_Plagg gets lethargic when I give him too much of that rancid cheese, anyways._

Adrien lifted the cig to his lips yet again, this time puffing lightly as he tapped his fingers on the side of his jacket to stave off the feeling of restlessness welling inside him. He knew why he was so anxious, but he didn’t really understand why it made him feel that way, nor did he really want to think about it right then.

Besides, he always opted to light a cigarette when confronted with an internal dilemma.

Smoking was one of the only methods that kept his thoughts and feelings in the calm, like an anchor in the midst of a stormy sea. Yes, he did it to be rebellious against the atrociously cold and calculating man he had for a father, but it was also like taking a dose of reality a couple times a day; his reality and connection to the life of a normal teenager used to be his late mother, but that was three years ago, and this was now.

And right now, he was in dire need for a good smoke.

_Well, that, and a good excuse to escape Chloe’s clinginess and Lila’s flirting._

Chloe hated the smell of cigarette smoke and Lila knew well enough to stay away from Adrien when he was getting his daily fix (most of the time), so it worked out in his favor. He almost felt bad for yelling at Chloe earlier that afternoon, when he was at the peak of his bad mood, and the talk with Marinette was still circling his thoughts like a vulture. It was an almost immediate reaction, the way he shook her from his bicep and expressed his desire to be “left alone for a while” a little too harshly for someone of her personality. He heard Lila laugh at her rejection from somewhere behind him, and felt Marinette’s judgmental gaze pressing into his back like a steam-iron.

Chloe looked so appalled and embarrassed he nearly consoled her right then and there.

Nearly.

The memories of her antics towards Marinette Dupain-Cheng the morning before prickled in his mind, and Adrien could suddenly feel nothing but anger and cold disappointment towards her. Before he could do or say anything more brash and hurtful, Adrien had just stomped off with each footstep more forceful then the last.

Sure, he had acknowledged the mean-spirited prank before when he apologized to Marinette on behalf of his dumbass of a childhood friend, but the feelings he felt then were not present when he talked with her before. He had always held some kind of respect for her, but now it was different. It was like his attitude towards her changed drastically overnight, based on the reason that he actually got to know a little more about her then he should have and learned that she wasn’t just good at being an annoyance in his life.

_She’s good at being witty, brave, kind (when I’m not an instigator), and her ability to defend herself was impressive._

_Not to mention I’ve always thought that she’s sort of cute…_

Adrien slammed his hand into the wall behind him, crumpling the still burning cigarette between his clenched fingers. Plagg jumped away from him, dropping his camembert in surprise.

_What the hell am I even thinking?_

He really needed to shove those thoughts deep down inside, and kick Marinette the hell from his mind. Yeah, she’s pretty cool and all now that he knows she’s not a complete goody-two-shoe, but he doesn’t like her in **that** way. He was probably still feeling the lingering effect of their conversation.  

_Right?_

“Adrien, what the heck?! You made me drop my cheese…” Plagg was in his face, not looking too pleased with his little outburst of anger.

“My bad, Plagg. I just…never mind, I’m just being moody.” Adrien brushed the cigarette ashes from his palm, wincing a little as he touched the fresh, red burn mark caused by the butt of the stick.

“Fuck…!” Oh, it hurt alright.

_Curse my fucking stupidity, I have a shoot tomorrow!_

“What has been with you lately? You’ve been acting weird since yesterday ever since you talked with that pig-tailed lady you argue with sometimes.” The kwami sighed and shook his head, staring down at the singe on Adrien’s flesh with distaste and what he assumed to be slight pity. He was sadder to see his camembert fall then to see his chosen injure himself, which Adrien found bitterly amusing.

“I’m not acting weird! And what does she have to do with this?” She had a lot to do with his recent behavior, but he would never tell Plagg that. Saying it out loud would mean endless teasing from the kwami, and he certainly did not want to be reminded of it every time he transformed to fight crime with Ladybug.

“You _are_ acting weird, and ever since you suddenly apologized to that girl-”

“Marinette.”

“-yeah, yeah, _Marinette_ , you’ve just been not yourself. Like, you’ve been showing more of your inner dork, instead of your tough guy façade.” Plagg rolled his eyes, and puffed up his tiny chest to imitate Adrien for emphasis.

“I’m not a dork.”

“Yes you are, and you acted like it when she tried to complement you, but you just walked away.”

“She acted like I couldn’t be a decent human being to anyone up until then, Plagg! I wasn’t about to just take her bullshit.” Adrien had every right to walk away, even if what she said was intended to be a complement. “I may be a hypocrite, but it was rude.”

Plagg leaned back into nothing with close eyes, carefully contemplating his words.

_Uh-oh._

Whenever Plagg actually thought about something, he tended to give painfully accurate advice. Adrien often forgot that he was thousands of years old, and that just because his little friend chose not to spout pearls of wisdom all the time did not mean he was _not_ wise.

The kwami grinned, lifting both eyelids to form an arrogant squint.

“You say that, but don’t forget that you’re the one who is always a jerk to everyone, and you were especially jerk-y to her yesterday. I think what she said is fairly justified, considering you were technically the one that got the both of you in trouble in the first place.” He saw Adrien’s brief look of confusion and added “You know, the whole assault ordeal and the visit to the principle’s office?”

Adrien opened and closed his mouth, thoroughly and utterly speechless against his reasoning.

_Goddammit, Plagg is right._

He hated when Plagg was right.

“…I wasn’t trying to be a jerk yesterday, and I didn’t know she would react like that when I grabbed her wrist.” Adrien said quietly, dropping his stare to the pavement in spite.

“If I were you, kid, I would apologize to her after school today for the entire mess you made. Honestly, you could have avoided this entire thing if you swallowed your pride and said sorry like a normal person yesterday. Now your father has to find out about this, plus you have detention…” Plagg kept talking about all the consequences to his actions, but Adrien decided he would just deal with them when the time came.

_Maybe apologizing to her for everything will resolve all the weirdness and tension?_

As much as he apologized for every tiny thing when he was Chat Noir, he found it strangely bearable to apologize to Marinette as Adrien Agreste. There was something about her that just warranted it, similar to the feeling he got whenever he messed up in front of Ladybug.

_Yet…_

Truthfully, he didn’t really quite understand his own reasoning behind the impromptu ‘I’m sorry’ he told her the day before; it could have been the way she reminded him so much of his alternate persona when transformed, like when he gets bested by an akuma victim.

Either way, if saying sorry for everything relieves the burden of awkward tension between the two of them, Adrien can go back to his normal delinquent life and Marinette can go back to giving him an occasional scolding for it.

The harmony would be restored.

 _Or maybe_ , a little voice in the back of his head whispered, _you could take this time to befriend her, since now you know she is actually a cool and interesting person who fights better then you!_

Now, that was an entertaining thought, as sarcastic as it may be.

Before, he only ever saw Marinette as the only girl who had any guts to call Adrien out on his wrong doings (excluding Alya, the walking-talking hurricane who _would_ and _could_ flat line him in an instance). He had an inkling of admiration for her sass talk and never even dreamed to pursue a relationship past their heated banter. But, after being forced to his knees in the epic display of her badass self-defense skills, and being on the receiving end of Marinette’s infamous ‘ _sugar smile’_ , he has changed his tune towards the female considerably.

“Maybe…” Adrien echoed aloud, interrupting Plagg’s pessimistic rant.

“What?” Plagg inquired, perplexed at his chosen’s mumbling.

Adrien just smirked at him and did not say anything for the rest of their lunch period.

\---

The final bell of the day rang over the speakers, signaling the end of class for the students. Adrien, who had impatient for school to end since lunch time, slouched deeper in his seat on the first row with relief as his classmates slowly filed from the room, their incessant talking drowning out the shouts of that night’s assignment from Mrs. Bustier. Nino managed to give him a parting fist-bump before Kim and Ivan swept his best friend away in a wave of boyish shouts and back slaps, both sparing a sympathetic glance in his direction as they hurried out the door.

Chloe sashayed past him with Sabrina in tow, making a point to stare straight ahead to show she was still mad about earlier; not that she needed to say it out loud, either, the angry click of her heels were enough of a hint. Sabrina just offered him a grim smile that made her frail appearance seem even more breakable, like worn glass.

_I wonder if Chloe took her anger out on Sabrina again, which would explain why she looks like shes about to cry…_

Then again, Sabrina always had that expression on her face whenever Chloe threw a temper tantrum, so it was probably nothing he should worry about. He could leave those kinds of feelings to Chat Noir.

Chat Noir was good at sorting his thoughts and feelings when it came to the people around him.

 Someone placed a firm hand on his shoulder, pinching the material of his jacket between their thin fingers in an effort to gain attention. Adrien glanced up with disinterest, unsurprised to find Lila Rossi looking at him with sticky-sweet sympathy.

_It seems almost believable._

“Your handsome face is so troubled, Adrien! Is there anything I can do to get you out of this?” Lila cooed, leaning down. One of her pony-tails brushed his cheek, while the scent of her spicy perfume crowded his nostrils.

Adrien felt himself frown.

_Too close._

“It’s a little too late for that, don’t ya think?” Adrien was in no mood to humor her, nor did he very much like when she rested her other hand on his forearm. “Besides, you don’t have a damn clue what I did.”

“Oh, but I know it has to do with Marinette. Just say the word, and I can make up a lie…” Her olive green eyes twinkled with mischief, but there was something else there too.

Something darker, with less discernable intentions.

 “I’ll pass, Lila.” Adrien feigned a smirk, and stretched his arms behind his head to effectively shake himself of her grip. “I’m used to this, remember?”

Lila bit her lip, obviously displeased with his decision. She took a step back, glaring not at _him_ , but someone above them.

He noticed that the conversation Marinette and Alya had been carrying on since the bell rang came to a stop.

Lila turned her attention back to him.

“Its that Marinette girl, isn’t it?” She suddenly claimed, leaning down once more, but with more force. You _never_ turn down my offers! What happened between you two?”

Adrien was taken aback, and he couldn’t conceal the shock on his face that showed it.

_Pull yourself together! Her claim is baseless and vague!_

“What the fuck do you mean? I just don’t fuckin’ feel like getting’ in trouble more with this particular incident.” Adrien chose his words carefully, very resilient to admit to his gang member of what had transpired between them yesterday, and today for that matter.

_What she doesn’t know won’t kill her._

“Bullshit. I know you, Adrien. If it wasn’t that goody-two-shoes, it has to be something else big, or at least it better be.”

“You don’t know jack shit about me, Lila. Mind your own fuckin’ business for once, will ya?!” Adrien was SO not in the mood for Lila’s nosy, busy-body, _jealous_ bullshit.

_Cry me a river and get over it, fox._

“I know more than you think, Agreste! I worry about you sometimes…” Lila crossed her arms, genuinely exasperated. Their angry whispering had caused the teacher to spare a concerned glance in their direction.

“Yeah, well, you can go stick that worried friend act in ah bottle and put a damn cork in it, because I suddenly remembered I don’t want to fuckin’ talk to a nosy liar right now.”

Lila’s expression shimmered with hurt, but there was something seething beneath all the distress. All at once, she stood up straight while flipping a thick pony-tail over her leather-clad shoulder, huffing.  

Your loss, then.” Her tone was casual, but it held venom, and Adrien knew he would get a million texts (and phone calls) from the female later that night asking why he acted like that towards her.

“Guess so.” He retorted, shrugging despite himself and giving her a teeth-ful of snark.

Lila was gone from the classroom in a flash, taking the overpowering smell of seductive spices and tension with her. Adrien would have laughed at her abrupt departure had it not been for the off-hand comment he heard Alya ask Marinette.

“What the hell was her problem? That stare was so cold I swear my body temperature went down…” Alya grumbled, completely unaware of his eavesdropping.

“I don’t know, but then again its Lila. Just ignore her.” Marinette replied, equally oblivious.

“No, girl, she was looking at _you_ , not me.”

“What? I turned around too late, I guess. She did seem peeved at Adrien, though…”

“Yeah? Well, what else is new? I’m more worried about you, girl.”

“Huh? Why? I’m sure she was just being prissy…”

“Uh-huh. Did you do something to her, Marinette?”

“I haven’t even said anything to her since last week-”

_CLAP!_

Mrs. Bustier, who until then had been stacking papers, clapped loudly at them. Adrien didn’t know when she had taken to standing in front of his desk without him noticing, but decided not to make a comment. The smile she wore was deceptive, if not intimidating.

“Alya, if you are done chatting with Marinette, I would like to begin her after school detention. Also, after that little display I just saw happen between Lila and Adrien, I’m afraid the same might transpire between you two, too.” Mrs. Bustier gestured to the door, and Adrien turned around in his seat to watch Alya gather her things together. She murmured a quick good-bye to Marinette before flying out of the room, leaving the door open ajar.

The smile on the teacher’s face faded into a grimace as soon as Alya left. She turned back to them, the mint of her eyes devoid of warmth.

“You two won’t fight, will you? There seems to have been a lot of that happening within my student body lately…” Mrs. Bustier trailed off, her cool green stare landing on Adrien.

Adrien coughed, and shook his head begrudgingly, noticing from his peripheral vision that Marinette did the same.

Their teacher smiled bitterly at their consensus.

“I’m sure you two know why you are in here, then, so I do not need to remind you, correct?” Mrs. Bustier nodded to the both of them, arms now crossed.

 “Yes, ma’am.” Marinette responded politely.

Mrs. Bustier looked at him expectantly.

_Seriously? I’m all out of politeness today, come back tomorrow._

“What are we doing today?” Adrien supplied instead, skipping the introductory. The sooner he could talk with Marinette, the better. That conversation with Lila left him angry and a tiny bit worried, so he needed to talk to her today, before anything else could bog him down.

_Because Lila definitely will find a way to buffer his possible chance at being friends with Marinette if she manages to snag information on what happened._

“Well, right now, nothing because I need to go make copies of tomorrow’s assignment…but I don’t want to leave you two alone without supervision.” Their teacher glanced at the piles of paper on her desk, and sighed. Adrien noticed the jumble of keys on her belt loop and quickly formed an idea.

_I swear, I’m a genius! Take that Plagg!_

“Mrs. Bustier, if I may? I have a resolution to your problem.” Adrien offered up his strongest gentleman smile, fighting off any hint of a smirk.

“Is that so?” Mrs. Bustier humored him, giving him a tiny smile that said _‘watch yourself’_.

“I see you have a room key, so to ensure we don’t leave the class, lock us in. It’s not like we can use a window of we’re two floors up, either; that’s suicide.”

The older female upturned her lips in thought, looking from the stack of papers, to them, and then to the copying room across the indoor veranda that was the terminales floor. After a few moments of deep deliberation, she tuned back to them in full, smiling genuinely.

“Adrien Agreste, your reputation is not the best but you have never failed my class for the four years I’ve had you. If anything, you always seemed to earn the highest grade in here out of anyone. That’s trust-worthy enough, but I’ll only allow this is Marinette is okay with it. Marinette?” They both turned to her, and Adrien could swear she shivered visibly when she looked into his verdant stare briefly.

_Come through, you tough sugar cookie, come through!_

 Marinette took in a rather shaky breath, and looked only at Adrien when she spoke, surprisingly enough.

“I’m okay with it, Mrs. Bustier. I have something to discuss with Adrien, anyways.” Those cobalt eyes drilled into his figure, a hint of guilt swimming in her iris’s. What could she possibly have to say to him that wasn’t ‘fuck you’?

_Guess I’ll find out._

“Wonderful! Depending on how slow the copier decides to be, I’ll be back in as little as ten minutes. Behave, you two!” Their teacher exclaimed, collecting her filing folders. A minute later, she had locked the door and began making her way to the copy room, probably anxious to finish the rest of her workload for the day.

And just like that, they were alone in the room together.

Both teens busied themselves in getting comfortable. Adrien did a 180 in his seat, leaning his back against the desk while crossing his legs on the bench. His jacket squeaked from the friction, and he felt Plagg re-situate himself inside the hidden pocket. Marinette tucked one leg inside the depths of her pleated skirt while the other leg hung limply from her perch, softly tapping the glazed finish of the wood.

Now that he could fully get a look at her without any pressing distractions (or conversations), Marinette managed to appear pretty in the most unassuming way. Her coat was tastefully wrinkled and creased, with one button at the top of the vest left undone. Both of her pigtails had been painstakingly groomed and conditioned to be the exact same length, despite how frizzy her hair was at this point in the day. The skirt that hid one of her legs splayed over the bench and rested an inch past the cap of her knee, longer then what most girls preferred their skirts to be. She was slouched over the desk slightly now, the sweep of her bangs casting a timid shadow on the freckles peppering her nose and cheeks.  It was as if he were to blink, he would miss Marinette in all her imperfect majesty.

 _Say something, nerd!_ His conscious admonished, snapping him from his reverie.

“I have another apology for you.” Adrien admitted casually, bringing a hand to rub the back of his neck. Marinette looked surprised, but at least she didn’t seem uninterested.

That, or she was a very convincing actor.

“Yeah? You and me both,” She replied, hastily adding, “A-An apology for you, too, I mean.”

_Oh?_

“Really? I’ll go first, then…” Adrien took a moment to compose his thoughts, trying his best to maintain eye contact with the girl across from him to show he was serious.

Here went nothing.

“I’m, ah, really sorry I got us into this entire damn mess. It was my fault that I…well, rather than saying sorry to you like ah’ normal fuckin’ person, I approached you like an asshole and even put my hands on you. Look, ever since yesterday, there has been this weird tension between us and I know you’re super freakin’ weirded out by me, darlin’, because we never talk like this but…yeah, I’m just really sorry about this entire damn thing.”

Adrien paused, dissatisfied with how his apology came out.

“Y’know, that sounded a whole lot cooler in my head. Figures, don’t it?” He grumbled to himself, causing the girl to break out into laughter. It was high and clear-cut, reminding him very much of Ladybug’s laughter.

A beat of silence spread between them before Marinette spoke.

“As long as you’re truly sorry, Agreste, I forgive you. I mean, you’re not fully redeemed yet, but it’s a start.” She played with a lock of her raven hair as she said this, looking more relieved than anything.

_Strange girl._

“So…we good?” He questioned, a smirk playing on his lips.

“Yes, but I owe you an apology too. First off, I’m sorry I kicked your butt yesterday and that your father had to find out. Second off, I’m sorry about what I said earlier, or what I implied. It was insensitive of me.” Marinette smiled shyly at him, looking like she wanted to say more but couldn’t find the right words.

_You and me both, darlin’._

 “Well, t’be fair, I act like I don’t have a nice bone in my body. Its no wonder your judgment’s a little warped.” Adrien held up his hands, chuckling. The awkward tension from before was dissipating, and a more comfortable atmosphere had fallen over them.

“True, but I figured you couldn’t be that bad since you chose not to sue lil’ ole me.” Marinette teased, threading her fingers together.

“Oh, that was fuckin’ wild! Imagine, the trouble-maker being offered to sue the goody-two-shoes!” He shook his head at the irony, recalling his own miffed emotions at the time. “Shit, to think it just happened earlier…”

“I know, right? I felt bad for losing my temper, Mr. Damocles looked as if he-”

“Pissed himself?”

“Yeah.” She giggled, their conversation hitting a lull.

Adrien studied Marinette for a few moments, taking in their newfound attitudes towards each other. She forgave him fairly easily, while he just as easily forgave her. Plus, she was easy to talk to. It was so peculiar, and frankly scary, how well they got along without a crowd to impress. This caused him to wonder why he didn’t try to pursue something with the female earlier then now, like in their first year. If he had become friends with her then, maybe he wouldn’t be where he was now. Maybe…

_No._

They were from two different worlds, practically. He grew up with strict parents, and even stricter rules. She grew up with loving parents, and rules that remained unbroken. His rebellious tendencies had been present ever since he learned to lie, and it had really peaked when his mother disappeared. She had been showered with love from her still-present mother all her life, with no discernable behavioral issues to be found.

Adrien Agreste was a delinquent (while Chat Noir was a golden mess), and Marinette Dupain-Cheng was kind-hearted with a thirst for justice.  

But, a late start is better than no start at all.

“Hey, Adrien, I have a serious question for you.” Marinette suddenly said, frowning. Adrien looked up, blushing lightly from the fact that he had been caught staring.

“Try me.” He replied, mirroring her frown.

Marinette shook her pigtails slightly, tucking a stray curl behind her ear as she wedged a closed fist under her chin.

She was the perfect picture of curiosity.

“What was the real reason you apologized to me? And don’t give me that dumb excuse from yesterday, I hate when people lie to me.” Adrien felt his throat close up, and he had to force himself out of the staring contest had been having with her up until then. Chat Noir was usually good at dealing with mushy bullshit such as this, not Adrien Agreste.

_But Marinette asked you, not Chat Noir. Stop being a pussy._

“Uh, well…look, darlin’, I’m not too sure myself. For the most part, you reminded me of someone…close to me who gets shit on all the time like you do from Chloe. I wasn’t in the mood for bullshit yesterday, and so it just felt right to apologize. You dig?” Adrien felt his face warm with embarrassment, and he knew he would have to walk on eggshells if she asked about whom that ‘someone’ was.

Marinette kept the frown on her face for all but a second more, than smiled at him brightly.

“Good enough for me. You really are a good guy underneath all that cigarette smoke and leather.” She quipped, lifting her head from her hand. This made Adrien laugh, and for once it was genuine.

_Safe, for now._

“I’m beginning to see why everyone likes you, Marinette, because I’m beginning to.” He said without thinking, reaching up to close the short distance between their desks and clapping a hand over hers.

The move was so involuntary and his words so superfluous that he almost didn’t catch the underlying meaning.

Marinette, unprepared for this sudden confession, kind of gaped at him. A flattered blush bloomed on her cheeks and spread to her nose, dusting over all her freckles like seeds on a strawberry.

_What…?_

Adrien, abruptly realizing his implication, removed his hand from hers at the speed of light.

_Shit. That’s not what I meant._

“Fuck, hold on. I meant as friends, darlin’, as friends.” Adrien rushed to assure her, gesticulating like crazy to prove so. He saw the tension in her shoulders leave, and noticed she had lowered her eyelids considerably in the last few seconds.

_Should I be offended?_

“Oh, good…I mean, I knew that. Of course. Friends is doable.” She fluttered a hand over her sternum, obviously indicating she was thinking the other way around.

She looked him up and down again, and repeated with a smile “Definitely doable.”

Unable to help himself, Adrien winked.

“Yes, I am doable, darlin’.”

 

For the rest of detention, he was nursing a bruised cheek from the book bag Marinette had launched at his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a lot more time skips come the next few chapters, including appearances from Ladybug and Chat Noir!! Lila may or may not become a huge storm in the horizon, idk yet...
> 
> As you can see, I've been more then hinting towards how Chat Noir behaves...sound familiar? Haha! 
> 
> Like I said before, this will be a slow-ish burn, and honestly, I myself am still trying to see where I'm going with it besides a big kiss scene between Adrien and Marinette. I have an inkling of an idea of where I want it to lead, but feel free to give me suggestions y'all!


	4. A Creeping Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat Noir is adorable, and Ladybug more then agrees (and so does Marinette).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time no see!! (Again)
> 
> School got crazy and im stressed to the Max atm. But I realled wanted to finish this chapter before AP Exams sooo
> 
> ;;;;;)
> 
> Anyways, Ladybug and Chat Noir finally make their appearance! Along with some other things, but you'll see later...
> 
> (also, if you're confused on some of the stuff in the chapter that has to do with the french school system, just see the end notes)

A week had gone by since Marinette had (albeit strangely) resolved to become friends with Adrien-freaking-Agreste.

A whole week.

A week.

 _Only_ a week.

Ladybug paced back and forth on the gravel roof she occupied, hands clasped behind her back out of habit. Below her, cars honked, lights blurred, and soft music of all sorts overlaid the pressing silence in her conscience as she contemplated events from the past few days.

Life had been almost the same, except Adrien and she had been hanging around each other more often than all four of their years in college combined. For one, his presence had frequented their homeroom almost every day that week, including early morning roll-call (which he _never_ used to attend). He had stopped sitting in the back, instead opting to sit in the front with Nino, even if all they did was mess around and get scolded by Mrs. Bustier (Alya griped that her boyfriend was being wooed away by Adrien more and more). He was even seen around the courtyard by many people during their lunch period, even though it was resoundingly known that he smoked cigarettes behind the school wall where the cameras couldn’t catch him during that time frame.

It would good to mention the eye contact they made throughout all this was embarrassingly excessive, as they were constantly stealing glances at each other in plain sight.

It would also be good to mention that the glances increased in number when they were alone together in detention.

 _And the blushing,_ a voice in her head chimed unhelpfully, _lots of blushing!_

Ladybug groaned out loud, practically stomping in place to expel the thought from her mind.

_God, spare me from these weird emotions!_

In the span of seven days, the relationship she had with Adrien had been accelerating at a fast rate, as well as the way she felt about him. She knew she needed to take their friendship at a slower pace, but chatting with him had recently become her favorite pastime. Adrien had a lot of hidden qualities she didn’t know about until now, and every interaction brought a new surprise for her to take delight in.

_Except…_

She still has yet to see that soft side of him she saw on the steps of their school, with his sunny smile and soft pink cheeks.

Of course, even with all his personality traits he had been hiding from her now up in the air, Adrien was still the flirtatious rebel who wore leather and cussed far more than a person who smoked three times a day should; his temper was still intact too, in addition to his show-off attitude. It is unfair to expect him to warm up to her enough to show her such a reserved part of him in the short time they’ve been getting to know each other; just as she had certain things she uncomfortable with opening up to him about, it was vice-versa for Adrien (she suspected).

_Even so…_

If it took as long as their last day on campus, Marinette was determined to coax that shining part of him from beneath all the storm clouds and smog. She didn’t know why, but that brief, brief interaction with the other Adrien felt so familiar and tangible, like she was looking at her favorite design or talking with Chat Noir.

At least, that’s how she felt but maybe she was mistaking the feeling for something it wasn’t.

_It would just be nice to see Adrien relax and enjoy everyone’s company, because he is definitely on most of the class’s shit list as of late._

_Then again, when is he not?_

_God, I should stop thinking about this now._

Ladybug stopped walking to look up at the night sky, pleased to find the stars winking down in greeting. She let her gaze wander from the stars to the streets, allowing her eyelids to crescent pleasantly. It was a cool, breezy October evening, the perfect weather for that period in the month. This was her absolute favorite time of year to patrol Paris, with the autumn season at its peak and the atmosphere of serenity overlaying their beautiful city (along with the multi-colored leaves!). Everything seemed so connected and harmonious it was hard for Marinette not to escape life for a little while and appreciate her surroundings for what they were worth.

_That is, until Tikki scolds me for not doing my homework._

Chuckling at the memory, the female began scanning the Paris scape for a familiar figure, searching for any sign of her partner. Chat Noir always arrived at their meeting spot around this time, but tonight it was apparent he would be late.

_As long as he isn’t too late, or else we’ll be out until two in the morning again…_

“Ladybug!” A voice from behind shouted, and Marinette smiled.

_Speak of the devil._

She turned to address the voice, extending an arm in the air as a hello.

“Chat Noir! Little late, aren’t we?” She teased as the male landed on the roof, earning a shy smile in return.

_Cutie._

“I’m sorry, m’lady! I was so busy with my shoot-…I mean my civilian stuff that time just flew by, you know? Haha…” Chat Noir tittered, rubbing the back his neck. Ladybug just shook her head good naturedly and patted his shoulder in reassurance.

“I’m kidding, kitty. You were only a few minutes’ late, not a few hours…unlike last time.” She added, frowning slightly as she recalled a particularly nasty akuma that had cropped up the night that Chat just had to be absent for three hours. By the time he arrived at the scene, Ladybug had successfully stopped the akuma and handed over the victim to the police. He profusely apologized for a good fifteen minutes before Marinette felt bad and forgave him with her kindest smile. _He really is too nice for his own good._

“Last time will never happen again, I _purr_ -omise you! Besides, I now have an alarm on my phone that goes off whenever its patrol night!” Chat smiled proudly, revealing pearly white teeth for Ladybug to admire. His cheeks dimpled while a soft blush dusted his slightly-scrunched nose, and Ladybug forgot how to speak for a moment.

_How can someone in a leather body suit manage to be so damn adorable?!?! This is unfair!_

“R-Really? That’s smart, why haven’t I thought of it before…” She mumbled, looking away to hide her bashful expression. Chat cocked his head to the side in confusion at her reaction, but shrugged it off shortly after.

“Haha, dunno, sounds like a you problem. You know, I’m the brain and you’re the brawn?” Chat joked nudging her with his elbow and grinning like an idiot. Ladybug nudged him right back, adding a little more force to hers. He lost his footing for a split second, arms spiraling to regain balance.

“I’m the brawn alright, kitty.” She remarked, watching the sheepish blush return to his face.

_He can be so shy sometimes, I worry._

Chat Noir coughed, shaking the banana locks from that were obscuring his vision out of his face. His emerald stare landed on her again, more serious, which caused butterflies to erupt in her stomach. Although they were surrounded by the jade of his retina, she could tell the shade would be absolutely stunning without the mask.

Y _ou can’t have thoughts like this Marinette you know the rules!_

“I think we should start our patrol, now, m’lady. You know that I know that we both have homework to get home to before tomorrow.” Chat took on a slightly scolding tone, referencing to the fact that it was a Sunday night and they both procrastinated all weekend.

 _Well, I did at least,_ Marinette felt herself grimace as she thought of the tablet full of literature and art history homework waiting on her work desk in her room.

Chat Noir took out his vault, readying it for launch until Ladybug swiftly clasped his tail, causing him to yelp in surprise.

“Not so fast, mister! We need to discuss a little something-something!” Ladybug exclaimed brightly, her homework all but forgotten.

Chat gave her a cautionary glance, looking from the landscape beyond them to her face. He retracted his staff immediately and placed it on his back holster, ears perked in curiosity; his lips curled into a nervous smile.

“What do you mean, m’lady?” He batted his eyelashes out of habit, and Marinette had to hold back a tickled squeal. He was so good looking, even with the mask, it was hard to cope sometimes.

Really hard.

Marinette swallowed, clearing her throat and straightening her posture.

“Your birthday is coming up, right? Next week, I think?” Ladybug asked directly, cheeks reddening ever so subtly.

Chat blinked at her slowly.

“Yeah…next Monday, the 20th . Why do you ask?” He fiddled with his hands, tapping his claws on his wrists.

“Why do I ask? Isn’t it obvious, kitty! We should do something nice, like hang out. Whatever age you’re turning, I’m sure it’s worth celebrating.” Ladybug gave him a mega-watt smile, taking his hands into hers with excitement etched into her body language.

Chat broke into a grin, holding her hands back with more force then necessary. He looked breath taking like that while bathed by the moonlight and stars.

“Wait, really? Are you serious? I’d love to do something with my best friend!” The words ‘best friend’ fractured Ladybug’s heart, but she forced herself to get over it. _Not now, dummy._

“That’s good to hear, kitty! We can discuss what the birthday boy agenda is on Tuesday’s patrol, but for now I think we need to start this one.” Marinette giggled happily, tugging her poor fingers from Chat’s iron-like grip. “You know, before we turn into pumpkins.” She winked.

_Play it cool, LB, play it cool._

“Awesome! _Purr_ -fect! I think I can manage to wait until Tuesday for this.” Chat once again took out his staff, this time with more finality. “Race you to the first lookout point. Last one there is a ball of yarn.”

Ladybug rolled her eyes at his cheesy parody, slipping her yoyo from her hip and readying the string.

“You’re such a cheese ball, Chat Noir.”

“Don’t you mean hairball?”

“Yeah, yeah, _sooo_ funny. You’re on, kitty!”

They both took off running, and she could hear his laughter over the roar of the wind.

\---

By the time Ladybug bid Chat Noir a ‘good night’ and ‘see you on Tuesday, or the next akuma attack’ (whichever comes first), it was already 10:30 PM. Ten minutes later, she had dropped through the trap door above her bed and already wanted to give up all responsibility and go to sleep. Unfortunately, her plan was foiled by Tikki, who was _very_ insistent that Marinette stay up at least an hour and a half more ‘to get as much done as possible’.

_‘As much done’ my ass, I’ll get a C on my work either way._

“But Tikki—” Marinette drawled out, already painstakingly making her way down the bed ladder, “My muscles are sore and I’m super tired—!” She made sure to drag out each word to show how unwilling she was to do a two-page report on the blind, French painter Claude Monet.

“I understand, Marinette, but you still need to keep your grades up too! Since we got home late, I can help you out a little.” Tikki patted her cheek sympathetically, and flew to her compartment on Marinette’s desk to fish out a cookie from her designated cookie jar.

The female whined, but nevertheless complied with her kwami’s wishes and dragged her exhausted body to her pink desk chair. Plopping down in a heavy manner on the cushioned seat, Marinette grabbed her touchscreen stylus and booted up her tablet. As soon as she typed in her password, the lass got to work first on her advanced literature homework (they were currently reading Oedipus, and she honestly could not be more disgusted with most of the characters). After scanning and finishing three mind-numbing acts, she began planning out the outline for her report on Claude Monet.

_I think my hair is going to fall out at this rate._

Marinette stopped writing to gaze into oblivion at the countless pictures decorating her desk-top surface and wall, opting to tune Tikki’s brief explanation on the history of Monet’s _The Japanese Footbridge_ oil canvas. She had tacked various newspaper clippings of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s accomplishments on the wall next to the computer, each scrap artfully arranged to circle a single framed photo of them.

_This is still my favorite picture of Chat and I._

The photo had been taken by Alya, who caught them immediately after an akuma battle that took place in the park near the bakery. It had been a sunny, spring day with only a few clouds to be seen. Ladybug had been in mid-fist bump with Chat Noir when Alya had rushed over and begged for a picture of them in front of the park fountain, in which they agreed.

She made them stand on the edge of the fountain, arms hooked together while their legs were spread apart, like a super hero pose. They were told to smile big for the camera, and Ladybug did until Chat decided to crack a pun at the last second, which sent the two of them into hysterics by the time Alya snapped a shot of them on her phone. With the spray of the water and perfect natural lighting coupled with their genuine grins and stares cast to each other, the picture was perfect.

_We hadn’t even been partners for a year, but we were so hopeful and full of laughter._

_Those were the simpler days alright._

Marinette’s heart suddenly ached with longing for the past, when she was young and excitable for every akuma thrown at her. She missed getting to know Chat for the first time, and feeling the thrill of a new crush, when it didn’t hurt so much. She missed being chased around by Alya for the Ladyblog, when her bestfriend didn’t have a joint-partnership with the news channel so others could do that job for her.

Everything had changed so much since then, when Marinette was still learning what being Ladybug truly meant.

Now she was almost an adult, with a future to think about and priorities to straighten out.

_Life moves on, whether we like it or not._

The sound of a phone chiming interrupted Marinette’s train of thought, subsequently ending her internal freak out for the night.  Tikki, being the saint she was, retrieved it from her school bag and set it down in front of her with an irritated expression.

_I bet she knew I stopped listening…_

“Who is it?” The kwami asked as Marinette unlocked her phone.

She scanned her notifications, startled to find that she had seven missed calls from Alya from earlier in the evening.

_Strange, but it’s too late to call back now._

“I have seven missed calls from Alya, Tikki. I wonder what was so important.” She said feeling little more than perturbed as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

“That doesn’t sound good. Was the new message from her, then?”

“No, it’s from-” Marinette began to say, tapping on the conversation.

_Adrien: hey u still up?_

“-Adrien.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Tikki scowl slightly and cross her tiny arm-like appendages in disfavor.  

“Oh.” The kwami curtly replied, settling on the edge of her shoulder to peer at the tiny screen of the phone. She could feel her judgmental gaze on her hands as Marinette responded to him.

_Marinette: Yeah. Currently dying over an art history report atm._

_Adrien: o? sucks to be u then lmao I finished all my hw_

_Marinette: Lucky you. Whats your stream btw?_

_Adrien: humanities. 4 hrs of French. Lit, then philosophy, English, geo, history, physics_

_Marinette: Same here, but ik I have lit and philosophy with you. For me, I have English, geo and art history is 2 hours._

_Adrien: the fuck??? art history sounds boring asf_

_Marinette: Look whos talking, you take physics. How will that help you on le bac?_

_Adrien: stfu kim is in there bc nino and ivan were bastards an didn’t want a maths_

_Adrien: tho he always talks shit w/ Max so i hve to force myself 2 be interested in physics_

_Marinette: Whatever you say, nerd._

_Adrien: stfu im getting a call so ttyt_

_Marinette: K bye._

Marinette’s soft smile that had formed when they started texting dissipated into a frown at Adrien’s abrupt exit. She set aside her phone slowly, hoping he would come back again but that was not the case.

_Who would be calling him so late at night? Weird…_

“He left so quickly even though he was the one that contacted you first, Marinette. Don’t you think that’s rude of him?” Tikki observed, huffing.

Marinette stretched her arms above her head, yawning.

“No, not really. I just think it’s weird that someone would be calling him so late at night. I wonder who it could be.” She stood up as she replied, being especially careful not to make noise with her office chair. Tikki watched her movement, eyes alight with curiosity.

“I see…wait, where are you going? Downstairs?”

“Yeah, I’m just going to get water.” Marinette padded across the room, as quiet as a mouse. Just when she opened her floor hatch an inch, voices from downstairs drifted into her room. Frozen in place, she listened cautiously to see who would be up so late at night (besides her and Tikki, of course).

_What the hell?_

The quiet buzz of the living room TV and the hushed voices of her parents registered in her brain, and Marinette immediately felt her shoulders relax. They were just watching the news—

_Hold on a minute._

The female tensed again, more anxious then before. It was very unlike her parents to stay up so late on a weekday, especially since her father woke up at four every day to ready the bakery for early morning customers. In addition to this, her mother had always come up around ten o’clock to kiss her goodnight, but she had yet to do that. Something on the television was keeping them uncharacteristically occupied, or at least that is what she gathered from the grave mood downstairs.

_But, what is it? Mama and Papa only whisper when they’re worried…_

Marinette instinctively leaned forward, eager to find out what the newswoman was saying.

“…Gang violence…college student…unusual injury…” Nadja Chamack spoke professionally into what the girl assumed to be a microphone. Tikki landed on her shoulder, also listening closely.

_Gang violence? What? It’s too hard to hear!_

“Two students…badly hurt…Dupont…” She heard Tikki gasp when Nadja rattled off the names of the incident. Thoroughly perplexed, Marinette edged the door open even more, practically sticking her head down the stairs. Whatever Manon’s mother just said, it was enough to shock her kwami.

Instead of quietly keeping her perch, Tikki flew off her shoulder and pushed her tiny appendages against her cheek.

“Mari, no, don’t listen! It’s not something you want to hear!” She squeaked, and the heroine yelped.

“What do you-ack!”

Naturally, this action backfired and she lost balance of her feet and crashed to the carpet rather loudly while slamming the trapdoor shut.

“Oh, shit! Tikki, hide!” The female whispered frantically, scampering to her bed post and up the ladder. Tikki was close behind.

They both hid under the polka-dotted covers, with the kwami nestled into the crook of her elbow. Somehow, in her scramble and the excitement of that night, Marinette had lost on of her precious pig-tails, and now her frizzy hair was splayed all along the pillow like a raven halo of madness.

_Goddammit, I hate when my hair is down! Where did my hair tie go…?_

Just then, the door slammed open and Marinette heard the familiar patter of her father’s footsteps, her mother following in suit.

“Marinette, darling? Is something wrong?” Sabine spoke, an unusual edge to her voice.

_Stay still, stay still!_

Marinette dared not to respond, curling around Tikki to shield her from prying eyes. The bed rattled as the mother climbed up to check on her daughter, every tremor setting the female further on high alert. A thorn of anxiety wedged itself in her heart when she felt a small hand touch her ankle.

_Don’t react!_

“Sweetheart, is she awake?” Tom asked, walking closer to his wife.

“No, I don’t think so…but if she isn’t awake, then what was that noise?” Her mother worriedly curled her tiny fingers around Marinette’s ankle, and she had to fight from flinching.

“Sabine, I think you’re still on edge from the newscast. I doubt anyone could sneak into our daughter’s room without me hearing them.” Tom said confidently. Marinette smirked to herself, biting down a chuckle.

_Oh, papa, if only you knew…_

“But still, Tom…it happened those poor boys.” Sabine let go of her ankle and climbed down the ladder again, and Marinette peeked over her covers ever the slightest to look at her parents.

Tom had an arm slung around Sabine’s shoulders in a comforting manner, while Sabine looked deeply distressed.

Her mother pursed her lips.

“Imagine how devastated she’ll be when she finds out tomorrow, Tom. Should we even let her go to school?”

_What the hell are they talking about?! I have a bad feeling about all of this._

“Nonsense, dear! Francois Dupont has a strict no strangers’ policy, plus the college is right next to the house. We can watch her go if it will make you feel better, but our little girl can handle her own as you know.” Both parents shared a knowing look and Marinette blushed in embarrassment.

_Yeah…they would know after all these years, wouldn’t they?_

Sabine nodded in agreement to her husband’s proposal, slipping an arm around his waist.

“I would like that. Now, let’s leave before we actually wake her up.” Marinette ducked hurriedly out of sight when her mother glanced at her bed, praying she didn’t notice her staring.

As soon the trap door shut, and the footsteps of her parents grew further away until the night was silent again, Marinette jerked from her fetal position on the mattress. She stared wide-eyed at Tikki, the both of them attempting to process the confusing information her parents had bestowed upon them by accident.

“Tikki, you don’t think…?” Marinette trailed off, the worst coming to mind.

_What if an akuma attack happened without me knowing, and citizens were severely injured?_

_What if an akuma knocked over the Eiffel Tower and crushed a shopping strip?_

_What if Hawk Moth himself came out of hiding and is now wreaking havoc on Paris?_

_What if-_

Tikki vigorously shook her head at Marinette’s implication, frowning deeply.

“We would have definitely known if there was an akuma attack, Marinette.” Tikki said bluntly, crossing her arms in a thoughtful manner. “This has to be something else and something very bad.”

Marinette did not miss the note of worry tinging her kwami’s voice, or the nervous twitch of her antenna. Judging by her demeanor, there was another force Tikki seemed to be apprehensive of.

_But what?_

“Should I transform and sweep the city again? Maybe I’ll find what Mama and Papa were talking about.” The girl questioned, dread pooling in the bottom of her stomach. Butterflies were twisting her insides around, and they felt much worse than the presence of any of Hawk Moth’s creations.

In the distance, the blades of a helicopter could be heard, sending goosebumps to dance along the edges of her spine. Car honked, and music played, but something felt very off about the night now.

Marinette stood up on her bedspread and curled a hand around the trapdoor handle leading to the room’s balcony, hesitant to open it. It was almost eleven o’clock at night, and she had school tomorrow; but, if she didn’t do this now, the anxiety would eat at her until sunrise. Tikki seemed to have sensed her indecision, and came to rest on her shoulder.

“Marinette, you don’t have to do this right now. We have all tomorrow to investigate, and I’m sure whatever happened will be the talk of Paris for a day. Get some rest tonight, and you’ll feel refreshed for tomorrow!” She spoke softly, nuzzling into the female’s cheek in a comforting manner.

Marinette let her hand drop from the door handle, suddenly exhausted.

_She’s right. I can’t do much right now if I don’t know anything, especially in the condition I’m in._

She let herself fall back onto the bed once more, turning on her side and dipping her knees onto her abdomen. Faint light from the window below her loft illuminated the dark space of the room, casting flickering shadows on the soft pink walls. The muffled murmur of her monitor and tablet could be heard, filling her ears with a strangely familiar buzz.

It was eerie.

_Hopefully the situation won’t escalate to something worse by tomorrow morning…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy? Surprised? Intrigued? 
> 
> Can you guess what happened at the end of the chapter?? (im curious hah)
> 
> Also, I'm so happy that a lot of you like the story thus far!! I never expected such an out-pour of support, tbh, but it just really motivates me to write more and get better at my writing style. 
> 
> Le Bacc**  
>  okay so in french education it is basically this big test seniors in high school take at the end of their high school career, where they had previously, for two years, been taking classes that were specifically aimed towards their career path, but they don't call it 'career path' they call it a 'stream' (I.E. students in the literary stream prepare for careers in the humanities such as education, linguistics, and public service. They also have interests in the arts. The most important subjects in the literary stream are Philosophy and French language & literature and other languages, usually English, German and Spanish.) 
> 
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baccalaur%C3%A9at link if you're interested in le bacc :)


	5. Occurrence of Great Proportions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette is left with more unanswered questions than she prefers, and it’s only a Monday!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***PLEASE READ***
> 
> Hey, long time no see my dudes. This chapter was time consuming to write only because of the fact that it is very plot heavy. Certain scenes may feel rushed, but this is a set up for the real fun to finally begin! Originally, this was going to be a blaise story with the "Bad boy falls for girl with heart of gold" but with a twist because love square, buuut...I think they deserve more than your run-of-the-mill love story ;) This chapter might seem hazy to you, the reader, but rest assured all questions will be answered in due time! Just enjoy the ride for now.

The courtyard was unusually quiet as Marinette stepped through the front gates of the school, gaze sweeping past the groups of whispering students huddled amongst themselves. This would not have perturbed her as much as was if it were not for the fact that the courtyard was almost always filled with jittery chatter and laughter in the morning. Even Alya, who never failed to meet her on the school steps, was nowhere to be found.

Something was definitely off.

The Ladybug part of her flashed with that familiar sensation of warning, invisible sirens ringing in her ears. 

_I’ll bet anything that it has something to do with what happened last night!_

Though she was still unclear on what transpired the night before, Marinette could only assume it was something big if even her fellow classmates were disturbed.

_Though, usually, everyone is more apathetic to a disaster…unless…_

Cognizance lit up in her head like a light-bulb, harsh and more revealing to the truth than she had wanted it to be. Marinette caught herself stumbling back in near shock and horror, earning a few strange looks from the students around her, not that it mattered. Everything made sense now; from the late-night murmurs of the urgent newsperson to the empty chill that passed through the air of the school, all the puzzle pieces seemed to fall into place…

_Someone from the must have school got hurt. Badly._

Tightening the grip she had on her schoolbag, the female continued on her way into the building with a renewed sense of dread.  Fearing the worse had come true, Marinette wasted no time in going to her homeroom despite the subdued greetings of other students and faculty.

_It can’t be…oh god, no…_

With a shaky hand, she reached out and grasped the door-handle to her destination, mind spinning in circles. Tikki, who appeared to have sensed her anxiety, poked her head out from the purse. They both exchanged a concerned look, and for the first time Marinette was certain that not even Tikki was sure of the trouble that was storming on the horizon.

With clammy fingers, she turned the knob and opened the door. Almost immediately following this, she was struck with a sudden suffocating and nervous energy upon fully stepping past the threshold, the tension coiling around her throat like a starch collar. In various corners of the room, fellow classmates talked quietly with worry, eyeing Marinette with wide eyes as she entered.

Marinette quickly took note of everyone.

Max was slumped over in his seat, head buried in his arms and glasses a-strewn across his forehead. Nathaniel was standing awkwardly near him, his hands gently resting on Max’s shoulders as a gesture of comfort. Alix sat beside Max, her usual gruff demeanor replaced by one of sadness and anger; her lips were moving, and Nathaniel seemed to eye her warily.

Across from the trio, Rose and Juleka were busy with a despairing Mylène, who was uncharacteristically silent. Mylène was sitting with her face cradled in her hands, an eerie expression painted on her features. Both of the females had their arms encircled around the smaller girl, but to no avail as it would appear that their friend was in shock. Rose’s blotchy face indicated that she had been crying.

Chloé and Sabrina, for once, were standing civilly by the windows near the front desks without a trace of mockery in their body language. While Sabrina nervously flitted her stare from the empty teacher podium to the door, Chloé was hunched over her phone, nails sharply hitting the screen from the speed of her texting. Lila hovered close to the two, leaning against a window pane with a perfectly neutral expression; to Marinette, it almost looked as if she was bored.

Finally, her gaze landed on Alya, who was crouched in front of Nino. Their hands were interlaced and put to rest on Nino’s lap, while their faces were angled downwards. Nino’s cap was tugged low on his head, most likely to hide whatever was displayed on his facial features. Alya was speaking softly to him, occasionally using her thumb to rub soothing circles into his palm. Beside them, Adrien was nowhere to be found.

_That’s normal though, so why is everyone so anxious?_

Marinette did another quick survey of the room, confusion riddling her brain until a single thought struck a chord:

_But Ivan and Kim are missing, which is not normal._

 Despite their record of delinquency, Ivan and Kim are never late for first period. Ivan normally spends time with his girlfriend, Mylène, tucked away in a corner until class starts. Meanwhile, Kim and Max are always discussing his latest time running a mile from morning track practice, or Kim is badgering Max about the latest version of _Ultimate Mecha Strike_. Yes, they are both considered trouble makers for hanging around with Adrien and Nino, but even Mr. Damocles had to applaud their tenacity towards attendance.

Marinette found herself sick to her stomach.

Pieces fit together in her head, creating a disturbing picture. Max’s hopeless attitude, Mylène’s saddening detachment, and of course Nino’s depression along with everyone’s shaken faces; something terrible must have happened to Ivan Bruel and Lê Chiến Kim.

_And Ladybug wasn’t there to protect them._

The female staggered to the side, bracing the wall for support. It was as if all the air was knocked from her lungs, like the world had run out of oxygen.

_Unless whatever happened to them was an accident, like a bad car crash! Maybe they weren’t attacked…_

This in mind, Marinette collected herself and marched over to Alya, wavering determination shaping her jawline. With a quick (and rather hard) tap to the shoulder, her friend was startled from her daze, annoyance gathering on her face as she looked up to whoever the harsh contact came from. Upon seeing a conflicted Marinette, Alya’s peevishness immediately softened into melancholic relief.

“Marinette! Oh my god, girl, I thought something had happened to you too! Why didn’t you answer my calls?!” Alya cried, springing from her crouch and pouncing on Marinette with all her might. She hugged her so tight, the designer was sure there were bruises on her back.  

“Alya—ow!—I was preoccupied with stuff last night so I never got around to calling you back! What happened?!” She barely had time to hug back before the frazzled blogger leaped away as if she had been burned. Confusion and disbelief simmered in her friend’s wild eyes, while even Nino looked up in mild curiosity.

Marinette frowned.

“You mean…you haven’t heard? It was all over the news last night, and its all that’s been talked about this morning.” Alya gestured around the room, like that unto itself was enough of an explanation.

“No? Well, kind of but…please tell me Kim and Ivan were hurt in a car accident and not…” She trailed, the muffled audio bits she heard from the television the night before forming a picture in her mind.

Alya shook her head slowly.

“They…Kim and Ivan were badly beaten last night in what the police believe to have been a gang fight, and are currently in the hospital.” She let out a shaky breath, clutching the phone in her hands tightly. “Its bad, Marinette. You should have seen their medical charts…”

Marinette felt herself deflate.

_If I was there, this would have never happened. I knew something was wrong the moment Tikki tried to distract me from the newscast._

Before she could ask who the attacker was and where it had happened, Nino got up from his seat with a start, slamming both hands on his desk. The loud noise was enough of a shock to make everyone in the room jump.

“What do you mean by ‘medical charts’?! Alya, you didn’t tell me that you got to see their injury list!” Nino yelled, his grief momentarily replaced by outrage. “What the hell?!”

The room broke out into shocked murmurs, effectively stirring the class from their daze.

Alya balked, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

“Um…well…I was told by my studio advisor not to leak details of their injuries.” She stammered, staring intently at the ground.

This perplexed Marinette.

_Something’s amiss here._

“Hold on, you mean the public wasn’t allowed access to the condition of Kim and Ivan? Why?” Marinette inquired, directing her attention to Nino. “I’m sure their parents would have wanted people to know about what happened to their sons’ to at least promote awareness.” _Or at the very least Kim’s mother would have._

The heroine recalled the few times Kim’s mother had ordered assorted baskets of pastries from their bakery, having always been given the task to carefully decorate each good under the watchful eye of the woman herself and Marinette’s own mother. Evidently, her mother had been friends with Kim’s mother in their youth despite the obvious gaps in their mannerisms: Kim’s mother was rigid and commanding, completely opposite of Sabine. The only similarity to be found between the two was that the woman was fiercely protective of her children, and especially of her oldest, Kim.

Nino snorted humorlessly at her statement, sparing a glance in her direction.

“Of course they fuckin’ did, dude! I tried to visit them myself this morning, but the witch at the front desk said that ‘all visitations had been strictly prohibited’ for both friends _and_ family. How messed up is that?!” He fumed, spinning around to address the classroom.

Max and Mylène, who had up until then been in a permanent state of devastation, came to life at this revelation.

“W-Wait, Nino, does this mean I can’t even see my Ivan at all? That’s not…that’s not…” Mylène whimpered, and took to her feet. Tears caught on her dark lashes, but they were certainly not tears of sadness.

She was crying from anger and frustration.

“How is that fair?! I deserve to at least know if he doing okay!” She wailed, her disheveled braids sticking at odd angles from her outburst. Rose tried to put a comforting arm around her shoulder once more, but Mylène shifted away defiantly. A fire was sparked in her auburn eyes, and as it appeared, she wasn’t about to let it be doused by a couple of sympathetic pats.

Marinette watched worriedly as Max sat up in his chair and fumbled to slip his glasses back in place on the bridge of his nose. Max was usually good about hiding his emotions, (Marinette recalling back to the time where his secret disdain for her stealing his spot in a video game tournament had caused him to be akumatized), but anyone could see now that he was irritated.

_I don’t like where this going…I need to diffuse the situation, and quick._

“Mylène is correct in her assertion, close friends and immediate family should be, by law, permitted at least one visitation to the patient.” Max intoned smartly, adding, “By my judgement, what they’re doing is _bullshit_.”

He scowled at Nino.

“Did you ever find out why you couldn’t visit Ivan?”

Nino smirked wryly, and knocked his cap back haughtily.

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, I did.”

She nearly groaned aloud.

_He’s going to start a damn fight, judging by that attitude!_

Marinette and Alya exchanged looks, her friend appearing extremely frazzled.

They could both only watch in horror as Nino hooked a thumb in Chloé’s direction, practically snarling the words, “You can blame her dad for that!”

_What?_

Chloé, who had only been half paying mind to the class discussion, ceased typing on her phone at once when it was clear that all focus was on her. Sabrina gripped her friend’s arm desperately, mumbling something too low for anyone but Chloé to hear, but was promptly shaken off in annoyance. Two icy blue eyes burned holes into the accusatory appendage pointed at her.

“What are you pointing at me for?! I don’t know anything.” Chloé spat, viscously shoving her phone at Sabrina and sauntering towards them.

Agitated whispers spread like wildfire through the student body as she approached Nino, the blunt of her heals resonating sharply in the high-ceiling space. The male turned with squared shoulders, expression filled with nothing but spite for his adversary. They exchanged a heated staring contest before Nino spoke again.

“Now, that’s a damn lie, Chloé. The mayor, _your dad_ , apparently ordered for the nursing staff to prevent family and friends from seeing Kim and Ivan at all until he says so. Wanna elaborate on that, blondie?” His gaze was acidic, arms crossing in an ‘ _I’m about to kick your ass_ ’ way.

Chloé looked ready to explode.

“How _dare_ you accuse me of lying! It’s not like I can control what Daddy decides, even if he does tell me! I don’t know about you, but this is news to me!” Chloé huffed and glowered at everyone, pausing on Alya.

_Oh, no._

“Besides, you should be hounding Miss Journalist over there, or have you forgotten that she knows more than any of us on the well-being of those losers?” Chloé jutted a boney finger at Alya, mouth curling into a malicious smile. “Right, Alya?”

Marinette put a firm hand on the redhead’s arm knowingly, giving her a quick shake of the head as to say _NO_.

Not that it mattered, thought, because Alya was already livid.

“Did you just throw me under the bus to save your own skin, _bitch_? Really?” She sassed, the muscles of her face straining into a look of incredulousness. “As I said before, I can’t leak details of Ivan and Kim’s injuries!”

Upon hearing her response, the class erupted into a frenzied squabble with the heat of feud aimed towards Chloé, Alya, and Nino. There was so much happening, from Chloé getting surrounded by Alix and Max, to Nino trying to fend off an irate Sabrina; Alya had got swept up into a quarrel with Mylène, with Rose and Juleka in tow.

 _I need to do something before someone starts throwing punches!_ Marinette thought hurriedly, moving to the side of the room where Chloé and Sabrina previously were.

 _But, there’s an off chance that they’ll turn on you if you try to intervene._ A small voice in the back of her head argued, deflating her hopes of shouting to catch everyone’s attention.

Marinette was in the middle of weighing the pros and cons of transforming into Ladybug as a distraction when someone giggled faintly besides her.

And by that someone, she meant Lila Rossi.

Surprised, Marinette turned to find that Lila had moved to lean against the wall by the window in all the chaos, a mere few inches from where she stood. Lila wore a delighted smile, the ends of her lips curling even more when she caught the other teen staring. 

“What’s so funny, Lila?” Marinette crossed her arms in annoyance.

Lila let out an amused laugh, as if the answer to the question was obvious.

“Don’t pretend you don’t find this entire fiasco the least bit funny, I mean, look at them!” Lila waved a hand dismissively. “They’re all fighting over nothing.”

“You talk like you know something.” She retorted.

“Maybe I do.” Lila baited, tilting her head ever so slightly.

Lila’s cryptic answer caught Marinette off-guard as much as it piqued her interest. Swallowing her pride, the heroine feigned a look of curiosity.

 _I can play the fool if it means getting information_.

“Wait, really? Who told you?” Marinette hated the way she sounded, like she was clay in Lila’s hands. Lila grinned smugly and lifted her chin.

“Oh, I have connections to… _higher_ people, per say.” Her expression changed to something darker. “If I try hard enough, I can charm anyone into telling me what I want to know.”

Marinette nodded knowingly at this, even commenting “Impressive.”

“I know. I don’t want to give away too much, but I had exclusive access to their x-rays. Only Kim had a broken wrist, but Ivan just sprained his ankle.” Lila flinched as Chloé suddenly screeched loudly, frowning in disdain.

_Don’t let her lose interest!_

“Wait, Alya said it was bad!”

“Well, if you count the amount of bruises and cuts they had, then yeah, it could be considered ‘bad’.” Lila replied distractedly, scowling. “As I said before though, everyone is freaking out over nothing.”

_Hold on. Rewind!_

“If you only had access to their x-rays, then how did you find about the amount of bruises and cuts they had?” Marinette abandoned her innocent façade and stared down Lila suspiciously.

The brunette pursed her lips and avoided all eye contact. “That’s none of your business, huh?”

Marinette opened her mouth to ask more questions, but was cut off by the sound of the classroom door slamming open. 

_Maybe it’s Adrien?_

She whipped around in hopes that Adrien had finally come to class, disappointment and fear filling her when she instead saw a very irritated Ms. Bustier.

Everyone froze in place, the guilt evident on their faces.

Ms. Bustier gave a tight-lipped smile.

“Good morning, class.”

\---

Marinette mulled over the conversation she had with the Lila the rest of the morning, trying to get dots connected in her head. It ate her up inside to know that two of her classmates were in the hospital under questionable circumstances, whether their injuries were warranted or not. Even when Mr. Damocles stopped by to discuss what had happened with the class, the only thing he could say in utmost confidence was that Kim and Ivan would be back in school by next week.

While everyone took solace in this assurance, it still didn’t clear any confusion.

(“Mr. Damocles, do they know who attacked them?” Marinette had asked, trying to glean as much information as possible so Chat Noir and Ladybug could search for assailant.

The man had simply shaken his head somberly, answering “That, Ms. Dupain-Cheng, the police do not know for sure.”

 _“But why them?!”_ She wanted to ask angrily, _“Why were they attacked in the first place?!”_ )

By the time lunch time rolled around, the attack was all anyone could talk about. The press had even shown up at the school to interview students close to the victims, much to Mr. Damocles’s dismay.

Marinette and Alya were busy packing up their messenger bags when he made an announcement addressing the situation.

“Unless you have explicit permission from a parent or guardian, I should see no respectable student of this institution near the journalists by the entrance unless you are going home for the lunch period…” Their principal expounded, causing Alya to let out a chuckle.

“What is it?” Marinette shouldered her bag and shot her friend a look, all too used to Mr. Damocles’s severe nature.

“He said no ‘respectable student’ should be seen with the reporters, so I was thinking it’s a good thing I’m not the type of respectable student he was talking about.” Alya smiled at her and winked.

“What is that supposed to mean? I thought since you’re still mad at Nino, we were going to have lunch at my place.” Both girls made their way out of the room and into the crowded hallway, dodging a group of noisy student athletes.

Marinette had hoped to get Alya alone in order to hound her for details on the attack, knowing full and well the blogger would cave if she used her puppy stare. If anyone could shine a light on the haze surrounding the case, it was Alya Césaire and her numerous Intel.

“Girl, you know I worship those toasted Panini’s your mom makes, but I have to be here in case Ladybug decides to show up.” Alya shrugged. “You know, Ladyblog stuff. I can’t have my followers do all the reporting, and besides, don’t you think Ladybug would use the press as a chance to reassure people that the attacker will be caught? They trust her more than the police.”

Marinette stopped walking for a few seconds, taking Alya’s suggestion to heart.

_Now that’s an idea…this could give me a chance to find out more on the attacker as well._

She quickly caught up with Alya before she could notice the heroine’s strange behavior. The red-head kept on talking, but Marinette was only half listening to her.

When they parted ways, the Ladybug in her had already formulated a plan.

\---

“As is our duty as the guardians of Paris, and France collectively, Chat Noir and I vow to bring the attacker to justice!” Ladybug spoke levelheadedly into the microphone being held by Nadja Chamack, flashing a determined smile at the camera focused on her face. Around them, dozens of teenagers bearing the Françoise Dupont uniform swarmed behind the TVi News security guards, shouting and whooping for the attention of Paris’s savior. In the area outside of the school, more TVi news anchors were interviewing students who were close with Kim and Ivan (namely Max and Mylène).

Marinette almost felt smug about the scene before her.

_This is sure to garner the attention of the attacker! If they see a story is being put together on them, it might inflate their ego and prompt them to strike again. By then, Chat Noir and I can have them in custody by the end of the week._

“Ladybug, before you go, I have a few more questions! Sources tell me you were spotted gallivanting through the city with Chat Noir on the night of the attack. Can you confirm?” Nadja leaned forward excitedly, an eager grin cementing on her matte-pink lips.

This caught Ladybug off guard.

“Well, yes, but I wouldn’t call our patrol ‘gallivanting through the city’…” Ladybug answered uneasily, disliking the phrase Nadja had used.

“Since you confirm to your presence on the night of the attack, do you think you could have stopped Lê Chiến Kim and Ivan Bruel from ever being confronted by the attacker?” Nadja continued gleefully, motioning for the camera person to do a close-up on them.

“What? I mean, of course, if I had _known_ —” Ladybug began indignantly, unable to finish her sentence when the overzealous news anchor interrupted.

“Sources tell me you witnessed the attacker and the two victims on the same premises. So are you saying you saw the mystery attacker and the two victims together while you were roaming the city, but did not try to interfere? Can you confirm?” Nadja seemed almost ecstatic by Ladybug’s perplexed expression, successful in twisting her words around.

_She is taking everything I say the wrong way, dammit! And who are these damn sources?_

“No, I cannot confirm! I myself had been unaware of the attack until this morning!” Ladybug was fuming, and she made sure everyone knew it. Before she could say anything else, the camera person gave Nadja a signal, which in turn finally turned to the camera.

“And there you have it, everyone! Tune in tonight at 6 o’clock for a full story following the attack last night. This has been Nadja Chamack and Ladybug, and this concludes TVi News Channel’s special midday broadcast!” She winked meaningfully at the watchers, finishing with the station’s signature slogan “Don’t be bemused, this is the news!”

_I need to get out of here._

Ladybug, who was still reeling from the turn of events, fled the area as fast as her legs would allow. Ignoring the pleading yells from the crowd of students who were supposedly fans of her, Marinette lassoed her yoyo on a nearby edifice and pulled herself into the air. When she was a good distance above the ground, she released the grip of her yoyo on the rough ledge.

_What the hell was that interview? It sounded like Nadja Chamack was trying to get a confession out of me…_

Performing a perfect summersault, Ladybug landed on the roof of the building and paced the length of it until she could look over the edge.

_And those sources she kept mentioning…they intentionally lied about Chat and I’s whereabouts._

She executed her maneuver once again, hopping from building to building with controlled grace. Soon enough, the balcony of her room came into view; a pulse of relief washed over Marinette, comforted by the sight of her home.

  _I don’t like where this is all leading. I need answers before something more drastic happens._

In the blink of an eye, Ladybug launched herself in a spiral towards the open trapdoor to her room, making a split decision to de-transform midair. Marinette held her skirt down to prevent it from flying up as she came in contact with her bed, effectively ruffling the previously immaculate sheets with the rather rough touch down.

“Ugh!” She grunted, the force of the impact causing her knees to buckle. The dazed female blindly scrabbled for the railing, but grasped at air instead.

Naturally, Marinette toppled over the side of her bed and crashed to the floor, all the poise she had as Ladybug gone.

 _How typical._ She thought sorely, cringing at the pain in her backside. _Everything Ladybug does is perfect, but everything Marinette does results in disaster._

“…than again, it appears now that Ladybug is in deep shit for no other apparent reason than doing her job.” Marinette muttered darkly, earning a concerned look from Tikki, who had only just arrived from the impromptu de-transformation.

“Marinette, I know you’re upset, but reckless behavior won’t solve the problem. I’m confused about the situation, too, but let’s save our strength for when the time comes.” Tikki chided her chosen, watching as she struggled to get to her feet.

“Tikki, I’m pretty sure someone is trying to frame us! This could very well turn into another Copycat deal, where Paris’s entire police department was on Chat’s tail because of the fault of another.” Marinette raked a hand through her raven tangles. “I did that interview to hopefully find out more about whoever attacked Kim and Ivan, but we still know nothing!”

“Mari--”

“First, Ivan and Kim are attacked, and beaten. Then, Mayor Bourgeois forbids anyone from seeing them in their injured state, which means he’s trying to hide something. Then, Chat and I are being framed for everything! We don’t even know who this mystery attacker is!”  

“Yes, but we can find out. Tomorrow night, when you and Chat Noir meet for your patrol, think of a plan of how to catch this mystery attacker. Have you even considered if this could be gang violence? Those boys are apart of--” A sudden knock on the entrance to the room made the both of them freeze.

Marinette frantically looked herself over in her boutique mirror, fixing any imperfection she saw. She smoothed the crinkles out of her pleated skirt, centered the bust of her navy coat, and evened out the poof of her pig-tails. Just as she was straightening out her socks, a voice called through the floor.

“Marinette, dear! Can I come in? I heard a loud noise…” Sabine knocked loudly on the trapdoor entrance. Tikki clammed up and flew into the blazer of Marinette’s uniform just in time for Sabine to push open the door.

“Oh, hey mama! What is it!” Marinette burst out unnaturally, standing upright and plastering on a fake smile.

 _Smooth as gravel_. She thought sarcastically, clasping her hands.

“I mean, I was coming up here anyways, but I heard something heavy fall. Was that you, Marinette?” Sabine looked over her daughter worriedly.

“I just tripped over my own feet, mama, you know how clumsy I am.” Marinette waved her concern away. “You said you were coming up here for something?”

“Ah, yes! You have a visitor, and a handsome one too!” Sabine informed her cheerfully, motioning for her to come down.

_A visitor? ‘Handsome’? But break is almost over…unless…_

“Wait, mama, who is it?” The teen took cautious steps towards her mother, snatching her school bag from its place near the trapdoor where she had dumped it upon arriving earlier.

Sabine merely smiled warmly at Marinette, her cheeks turning a lovely shade of rose. Her mother only blushed like that when she was feeling coy.

“The young man said his name was Adrien Agreste.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot thickens! A lot happened in this chapter, at least in my opinion because I'm the writer, so prepare for things to get a lot more interesting from now on. 
> 
> On the topic of romance for anyone who is wondering: It will come, but I need to get it to a good time frame where they've gotten to know each other a lot better. Until then, please be aware that I love to write about angsty and pining teens with alter egos caught in a tangle of want and guilt ;)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! (Sorry I'm so long winded!)


	6. Flowering Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien swallows his pride and asks Marinette to help him investigate the crime against Ivan and Kim.   
> Chat Noir and Ladybug discuss the turn of events from their last meeting, and things do no go as planned. 
> 
> (Alternate chapter title: A Rise and Fall in Feelings)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time to spice up the story with some good ole' fashioned romance! Or, A.K.A, people who mistake their feelings of attraction as friendship! It's subtle, and it's in the context, but fear not! The build up will be worth it ;)! 
> 
> I'm trying to speed things up a bit to get to the good stuff (like in the next chapter), so from here on you might see a spike in time skips to keep the ball rolling and the plot flowing. 
> 
> I might have the next chapter out by next Thursday(?), or sooner depending on my mood. 
> 
> Enjoy, lovelies!

Adrien shifted awkwardly to one side, digging his hands deeper into the recesses of his jacket pockets. He felt out of place in the living room of the Dupain-Cheng household, his usual rugged appearance largely contrasting with the rosé and white themed décor of the space. It was a far cry from what he was used to seeing in his own home considering his father’s love for white walls and linoleum floors with black granite accents. Sabine had encouraged him to ‘make himself comfortable’, but he was almost reluctant to ruin the pleasant image of the room by claiming a spot on their champagne pink couch.

_Too much has happened for me to feel at ease anyways._

He listened to the sound of Sabine banging on what had to be Marinette’s bedroom door, trying to decipher what she shouted before he heard her push something heavy open. A feminine voice responded back, and the ceiling creaked with the weight of someone moving around above him.

_I came here for one reason, and one reason only…_

Sabine materialized at the bottom of the stairs with a strange smile that wasn’t quite like the one she wore when she first greeted him. While he found it almost unsettling, Adrien quickly brushed the feeling aside and squared his shoulders. His main concern had just rushed past the giddy woman and stopped a few feet short of where he stood.

_…Marinette._

“You’re okay…” Marinette spoke aloud with a relieved sigh, her intense stare panning the length of his body.

Adrien couldn’t help but notice the frazzled state his friend was in.

Her pig-tails were lopsided and frizzy, the red hair ties placed at different lengths on each sides.  The blazer she sported was slightly off, despite the obvious effort that had been put in to iron it. Her skirt was ruffled in areas, even with the pleated design to keep it from crumpling. One of her socks had smudges of ink on it.

She looked as discombobulated as he felt.

“Yeah.” Adrien nodded, the word sounding laden and foreign as it rolled off his tongue.

_Liar._

_Just tell her what you came for._

Adrien glanced fleetingly at Sabine and frowned.

Marinette mimicked his expression.

“I need to talk to you. Alone.” He kept his voice low, pleading almost. “It’s about what happened.” All the bravado he had gathered on the trip here seemed to fall through the cracks of his tough exterior like sand. Just the mere acknowledgement of the incident was enough to send him spiraling into the depths of despair while simultaneously bringing his blood to a boil.

Judging by the look on Marinette’s face, she understood what he was talking about.

“Okay.” She said simply, her tone all but sepulchral.

She twisted around to address her mother, who he suspected had hung back and let them talk out of motherly politeness. The woman, now concerned by their solemn demeanor, lifted her chin to attention.

“Mama, do you mind giving us some privacy? Please?” Marinette requested quietly, holding Sabine’s gaze for a few moments.

An unspoken conversation passed between them before the ladder broke the silence.

“Of course, sweetie.” Sabine agreed hesitantly. She took uncertain steps towards them, and Adrien could practically see the worry lines in her forehead deepening.

_(Who could blame her? I wouldn’t want my cute daughter to be alone with some guy they didn’t know.)_

She stopped and pecked a kiss on Marinette’s cheek, squeezing her shoulder in a comforting way. Adrien knit his brows in discomfort; he was unversed when it came to witnessing such open displays of support and affection in light of the fact that he ceased receiving that luxury when his mother disappeared.

So unversed, apparently, that he flinched when Sabine patted his arm nicely.

“It was nice to meet you, Adrien. I’m guessing you’re the one who Marinette has been texting so often?” Sabine remarked warmly, catching Adrien completely off guard.

 _Oh._ He thought, the crisis at hand momentarily forgotten. _Heh._

“ _Mama!_ ” Marinette hissed, turning pink. “ _Really?!_ ”

The older woman smirked and whisked down the winding stairs that lead to the bakery without another word, the younger continuing to make indignant sounds after her. It was sort of endearing.

“Hell, darlin’, do you not text anyone else except me?” Adrien teased dryly once Sabine was safely out of hearing range, allowing himself a small grin. “I’m flattered!”

Marinette whirled around to face him, lips puckering into an embarrassed pout.

“No! I text everyone an equal amount, thank you very much.” She scrunched her nose meticulously and crossed her arms.

“But you still text me more, right?” Adrien chirped, removing his hands from his pockets to reveal a lighter and a cigarette pack. “Right?”

“I won’t tell. I guess you’ll have to live in suspense the rest of your life.” Marinette retorted cheekily, laying a hand over her heart. “How tragic.”

“Oh, indeed.” Adrien conceded, and just like that their banter hit a blissful lull.

_Well._

The male absently knocked a cig from its encasement with his palm, holding it between his index finger and thumb. He tucked the pack back where it came from, disturbing Plagg in his hiding place. He knew well enough that Marinette would refuse if he offered her one.

_I sure as hell need one right now, though._

_Especially after what has happened…_

Adrien began to remember his purpose for visiting and sobered up quickly. Their light-hearted atmosphere shriveled up like a leaf in winter the moment the end of the cigarette caressed his lips.

 “May I?” He gestured to the lighter, waiting for Marinette’s approval. She grimaced, but nodded anyways.

Adrien took a few seconds to light the other end of the cig, sighing contently as he breathed in the smoke and watched it escape back out through his nostrils. This went on for a full two minutes before he spoke again.

“Sorry, I needed to relax a bit first. The whole Kim and Ivan situation has got me feelin’ like shit.” Adrien began roughly, coughing around the lump in his throat that definitely wasn’t residual tar from his smoking habit.

_God, this is harder than I thought._

“You’re not alone, I feel just as bad.” Marinette sympathized, looking too guilty for someone who had nothing to do with the crime. For some reason, his heart ached painfully from seeing her crestfallen expression.

_I should be the one wallowing in self-pity, not Marinette._

_She’s too compassionate for her own good._ Another voice echoed. _And you’re not._

“…” He let the quiet surround them for a few more minutes, because talking about what happened was so _damn hard_ and his request was too _damn much_ to ask of someone. Damn his father for raising him to be this emotionally constipated for the benefit of his modeling career!

“…fuck!” He muttered, running his free hand through his already-messy blonde hair.

_Chat Noir is so much better at this._

_I’m just too prideful._

Gentle hands found his knuckle, curving around the underside of his fingers with the lightest of pressure. Warm skin brushed his cheek bone.

“Adrien, what did you want to talk about?” Marinette pressed, voice sharp and soft all at the same time. Under the scrutiny of her endlessly azure eyes, Adrien found the words that had refused to come out creep up his throat. When she caressed his hand fully, it all came spilling past his chapped lips.

“I have a big favor to ask of you. Like, a huge favor. Bigger than I should dare ask.” Adrien rasped, leaning into the friendly touch.

“No matter what you ask of me, I’ll still try my hardest to do it. That’s a promise.” Marinette gave a hint of a smile, giving him more courage.

_Here goes nothing._

“Where Kim and Ivan were, where they were…there’s a bar near the crime scene, and I know the owner’s daughter. Can you go with me, this Friday night? To kind of investigate this mess, I mean?” Adrien rushed with his words, the hand holding his cigarette shaking from anxiety.

Marinette blinked in shock at him, her own hand falling back to her side.

“I feel like you can hold your own pretty well, and I feel I can’t ask anyone else to do this with me…and I just trust you for some reason. It’s no coincidence that Kim and Ivan were targeted, and I think I might have to do with me.” He took a quick puff of his cig to calm him nerves, accidentally blowing the smoke in his friend’s face; yet, she didn’t seem fazed.

“I-I…well, what about Ladybug and Chat Noir? Don’t you think you should leave stuff like this to them?” Marinette asked in a weird tone, her stare painstakingly neutral. Adrien noticed that whenever the topic of Ladybug and Chat Noir came up, Marinette became a different person; her shoulders tightened and she tended to avert her eyes from whoever she was talking to. Adrien thought it was odd to behave that way about individuals who saved lives on a day-to-day basis, but always chalked it up to shyness.

 _Not the time!_ A voice in his head admonished.

“Unless Ladybug or Chat Noir themselves demands that I stop, than I don’t think we should worry about them right now.” Adrien answered lightly, trying to divert attention away from his alter-ego.

Marinette brought a pale finger to her bottom lip, tapping on it thoughtfully. Where she compressed the plump skin, there was an obvious red mark left in her immaculately rounded nail’s wake.

“Why me? Why not ask Nino, or heaven forbid, Chloé to help you? I know Lila knows a few things about what happened, too.” She argued, forcing Adrien to look up from her lips.

 _What the hell would Lila know?_ Adrien made a mental note to pester his sly friend later.

“Because.” He motioned vaguely, cigarette smoke following closely behind his hand.

“Because what?” She was trying to be modest at this point.

He grinned wryly.

“Like I said before, darlin’, I trust you. My crew would just fuck things up, or anger the wrong person. I know you won’t make their mistakes, you’re too cunning for that to happen.” Marinette pinked at the ears from his compliment, fighting to keep her mouth from upturning in embarrassment. Adrien allowed himself to be pleased at the sight.

“Besides, you said yourself you would do your best to help me. Are you going to go back on your word?” He ventured so far as to tease, holding his cig between his teeth masterfully.

Marinette made a face at him.

“No, I like to keep the promises I make, thank you very much. I’ll help you, since you put so much faith into me.” She threaded her fingers in her air, sighing. “And even if not for you, my sense of justice would want to do it for Kim and Ivan. They may have gotten under my skin more times than I can count, but those two didn’t deserve this.”

“Agreed. For Kim and Ivan.” Adrien echoed solemnly.

A chasm of silence opened between them as they looked at each other, both mute with hidden thoughts that could not be voiced.

Adrien continued to smoke his cig, feeling slightly guilty for the scent that would settle on the furniture when he would eventually put it out.

Marinette peered over him in that curious way of hers, and he briefly wished that he was a mind reader if only he could know what she was thinking.

“Anything happen at school today? Didn’t have it in me to be in that hell hole this morning.” Adrien broke the quiet, shaking himself of inappropriate misconceptions that his train of thought would lead to.

Marinette appeared visibly exhausted at the mention of school, leaning towards him in the familiar way that Nathalie would whenever he bothered to ask her how an interview with a troublesome client went. Through the cloud of nicotine-smelling fog, he caught the whiff of freshly baked cookies that most likely clung to her uniform based on the fact that she lived above a bakery.

“Where do I even begin?”

Adrien quirked an eyebrow in dry humor.

“That bad?” He questioned.

“That bad.” Marinette nodded before diving into the shit show that was their homeroom earlier that day.

_Tuesday Night_

Chat Noir, for once, was early for patrol that evening.

 He hovered on the outskirts of the rooftop of their meeting place, pacing back and forth before ultimately deciding to settle criss-cross on the ledge until Ladybug arrived. The harsh bite of uneven concrete dug into his rear, but Chat ignored it in favor of watching the moon usher away the lingering signs of the previous day. Although the night sky was overhead, brightly colored streaks of amber and violet chased the horizon line in lieu of the setting sun.

Adrien loved this time of day, when the moon became more prominent and the sun became a flurry of hues and contrasted the midnight sky with reds, oranges, and purples. And on any given patrol, he would try to savor such a relaxing and mesmerizing sight.

_Yet…_

With what has happened as of late, not even a bird’s eye view of the city and the sunset could calm the waves of anxiety in his head.

School had been terse and lonely, even with Nino and Chloé glued to his side practically the entire day. Alya, who finally realized he had developed a friendship with Marinette, had attempted to comfort their sad group (though to no avail). Everyone was on edge, understandably, because what happened to Kim and Ivan; plus, the perpetrator was still at large, so it could any one of them next.

But, the final nail in the coffin was when other students questioned where Ladybug and Chat Noir were, and why they didn’t stop the attack. This occurred in his philosophy class that he shared with Chloé, Alya, and Marinette.

Naturally, Alya and Chloé fought off the mounting accusations fiercely, defending their hero’s pride and credibility in a shocking moment of team work.

(“Ladybug and Chat Noir has saved us all countless times! Countless! They have gotten hurt for us! How dare you doubt their loyalty as the saviors of France!” Alya roared, slamming a fist on her open philosophy textbook.

“Ladybug and I are basically besties, and my bestie would have definitely stopped that criminal if she knew! Lowlifes like you have as much bravery combined as she has in her fingernail! You don’t deserve to talk about her that way, and Chat Noir too!” Chloé screeched at the class, the fire in her eyes ready to reduce anyone who made eye contact to ashes.

Adrien exchanged a look with Marinette, who smiled secretively to him, like if she herself was Ladybug, and was proud to have such vehement supporters.)

Guilt constricted Chat’s lungs upon remembering the fear and remorse on his peer’s faces, wishing with all his might that he could have prevented the attacker from ever existing. It was his duty, his required _destiny_ , to keep the citizens of France safe. Ladybug and him were very serious about the burden put on their shoulders, which is the reason why an accident like this hasn’t come about in months.

_Is it a coincidence that the people close to me were hurt? Should I really be that naïve?_

_If a thug had done this, the Mayor wouldn’t have been so freaky about publicizing the incident._

_Could Hawkmoth know something about my identity…_

He had voiced his concerns to Plagg, but his kwami brushed him aside quicker than usual, blabbing about how he was too paranoid.  Adrien suspected Plagg knew more about the situation than he was willing to let on, but didn’t pester him anymore after that. Though it had only been a few days, he felt there was something much bigger in the works between the rising tension in his kwami and the inactivity of Hawkmoth.

He could only hope Plagg would tell him what exactly has been going on before it’s too late.

Soft footfall behind him indicated that Ladybug had arrived, along with the scattering of gravel beneath latex soles. He sensed her every move as she padded towards him, seating herself on the ledge as well. Their shoulders touched, and Ladybug gently slipped her hand in his for comfort. Embarrassed heat spread across his chest, yet Chat chose to ignore the fire in his stomach for now.

When he looked at her, the stare she gave him was startling intense.

“Chat Noir, we have a problem.” Ladybug began, “I trust you’ve heard about Lê Chiến Kim and Ivan Bruel?”

“I have, yes.”  _More than you know_ , he almost said.

“And have you watched the news lately?” Ladybug inquired, expression and tone anomalous. He dully noted that the iconic pig-tails she sported were messy and uneven, deviating from the normal stringent style he was used to.

_Huh?_

“Well…uh, yes? Kind of…father only lets me watch certain channels.” Adrien could only ever watch political debates and educative programs carefully selected by Nathalie that were Gabriel Approved™.

“…oh. So you haven’t heard, then?” Ladybug, in the dying light of day, paled so much that the tan dusting of freckles on her nose were starkly noticeable. “Chat, Nadja Chamack is building a story around us as the prime suspects of the crime. She did a briefing on Monday night, that damned woman making me look like the bad guy in out interview.”

His heart skipped a beat out of fear.

“Interview?”

“God…okay, let me fill you in on what happened to me the other day.” Ladybug then went on to recount her run in with Nadja Chamack, and their unsettling interview. Chat felt chills run down his spine when she told him about a mysterious outside source, flashes of the Copycat akuma haunting his vision. Additionally, she informed him of the Mayor’s sketching actions and the downward spiral of faith the populace had in them. Stuff he already knew, but details nonetheless.

_But, this sounds different…could someone, like a civilian, be trying to frame us?_

_What is their motive?_

By the time Ladybug finished her encounter, Chat’s head was spinning. How could so much change in the span of a single day? His talk with Marinette had left him hopeful, sure that her brain and brawn paired with his nefarious connections to underground Paris would upheave some dirt on their target. This entire ordeal would just make things harder for him.

“Ladybug, you don’t think anyone would fall for this ploy again…would they?” He whispered, the ice in his veins refusing to thaw.

“They have once, and they will again. At first, I thought it was some petty crime corporation that did this…now I don’t know what to think. The night that it happened, my kwami acted strange. She keeps telling me that she doesn’t know anything, but I know she’s withholding information.” Ladybug fondly caressed her earrings, tone downtrodden and worried. “What could be so dangerous that she can’t even tell me?”

“I don’t know, but my kwami has been acting like that, too. Whatever is going on, I have a sick feeling it’s all connected to Hawkmoth.” Chat thumbed his ring, pressing on the steely surface with conviction.

“I thought so, too. I did a lot of thinking yesterday, and I have reason to believe that Hawkmoth has teamed up with a willing akuma candidate. You know, civilian by day, akumatized by night? It could explain his radio silence for the last week.”

_By god, she might be right._

“Yeah, you could be right!” Chat exclaimed, suddenly excited by the realization. “Heck, that mysterious source that Nadja Chamack has been talking to could be the accomplice! Ladybug, you’re a genius!”

Ladybug threw him a cheeky smirk.

“I know. Nice attention to detail yourself, because now we have a lead in this whole mess. Let’s make sure that bullshit story Nadja is building never sees the light of day!”

“Agreed, m’lady! You’ll be happy to hear that I’ve already committed to investigating outside the mask with someone.” Chat beamed proudly, the awful atmosphere from before lifting.

_Our kwamis may not want to help us, but that didn’t stop Lady and I from coming up with a solid answer!_

Ladybug perked curiously at his revelation.

“Really? Do you trust him? And is he trustworthy?” She prodded, leaning in slightly.

Chat couldn’t stop the blush from rising to his cheeks at her wrong assumption.

“W-Well, she’s pretty brave and kind, so yes I trust her. She’s almost as trustworthy as you, in fact. If you could meet her, I think you two would get along well.” Marinette’s gentle, but stern face bubbled to the top of his mind as he spoke. It was easier to think about her as Chat Noir than it was as Adrien, and he allowed himself to feel vulnerable as a result; the sensation was nice.

_I wish Adrien could cope with emotions as well as Chat Noir._

Ladybug abruptly ripped her hand away from his, and Chat looked up just in time to catch the raw expression on her face.

_What?_

“She sounds dandy, but I would never want to meet her.” His partner declared coldly, standing up. “It could put both of our identities at risk.”

Chat jumped up, something dreadful curling around his heart.

“M’lady, it was just a thought. Don’t take it too seriously.” He watched as she briskly put space between them, assiduous in hiding her face from his.

_She was fine when she thought Marinette was a guy…_

_Is she upset that it’s another girl…no, Ladybug would never be that petty…_

“I would hope so! Since you trust her so much, I can only imagine what you’ve revealed to her so far.” Ladybug huffed, and crossed her arms slyly.

_Did she just…_

“What are you insinuating, Ladybug? That I would throw my secret away that easily?” Chat was beginning to get angry, something he never got with Ladybug. For the amount of respect and awe he held for her, he simply could not allow that reverence to overshadow the fact that she had just disrespected him.

“You said it, not me.” Ladybug sniffed.

Chat’s already short fuse became nonexistent.

“How dare you! I would never do that, not to myself, and not to you! Despite what you believe, I care about protecting who I am just as much as you! I can’t believe you have so little faith in me.” Chat was shouting, and didn’t care that someone might hear him. “What’s worse is that you don’t even know my friend, but you think she would tell everyone about my secret if I were to tell her! How can you judge her like that if you don’t know firsthand how much she reminds me of you!”

“Don’t you compare her to me, dammit!” She spun on her heel, jabbing a finger in his direction. “I’m just worried, okay?! We need to be on our guard after all that’s happened.”

Ladybug appeared as if she was about to cry, and from what Chat did not have the privilege of knowing.

“Yeah, well, it seems to me like you’re more concerned about yourself and how my actions could affect you. For someone who acts so selfless, you sure know how to be selfish.”

Ladybug stiffened at his comment. In the moonlight, he swore he saw something shiny fall from her eyes.

“Chat Noir, I think we should start patrol before both of us say something we might _really_ regret.” Her voice was wavering, but the threat presented itself loud and clear: if he wanted to leave unscathed, this would be the time.

_I see how it is._

“Fine. Run away from our problems like you do best, see if I care.” Chat waved his hand dismissively, gripping his baton in the other. “Maybe on Saturday’s patrol, you’ll be over this.”

She swiped at her watery eyes, sniffing loudly before turning her back to him. With her yoyo in hand, Ladybug leaped into the night air and promptly vanished from his line of sight.

Chat Noir did the same, vaulting in the opposite direction. Guilt pricked at his heart, though as Nathalie had told him countless times, ‘there’s no use crying over spilled milk’. Let bygones be bygones, he supposed.

 

Little did he know that Ladybug wasn’t crying because she was angry at him, nor from the fact that they had a petty fight; on the contrary, she was merely suffering from a broken heart. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahaha...so not sorry for that ending. Just like canon Adrien is oblivious to Marinette's feelings, Chat Noir with canon Adrien's personality is oblivious to Ladybug's feelings for him (honestly Marinette and Ladybug in the show have a thin membrane separating their personalities, so they act the same in my eyes). 
> 
> Next chapter will be centered around Adrien and Marinette's visit to the bar and crime scene, possibly with Marinette still feeling hurt over Chat's lady crush ;;;)))


	7. Dust Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette, and other things, are falling apart at the seams (and oh, how she wish they were as easy to stitch back together as clothing).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot goes on in this chapter, both good and bad. This is my longest chapter yet, finishing at a whopping 5,832 words! I am NEVER doing that again. Detail is, like, my private prostitute at this point and i wish it weren't ;-;   
> I am a filthy liar btw, I said this chapter would center on an Adrienette trip to the bar and shit, but that sure as hell ain't the truth.
> 
> Also, I know I said this would be a slow-ish burn, but....well you have to read the chapter ;)

_Wednesday Morning_

Marinette woke up before her alarm in spite of the exhaustion dragging at her eyelids. The sleep she had gotten could be described as fitful at best, events from the previous evening to blame for her poor condition. After getting home, the heroine had all but collapsed in a sniveling, self-pitying heap on her bedcovers, replaying what transpired between Chat Noir and her until she was no longer conscious enough to dwell on the persisting anguish.

 _Though, it is certainly still with me._ She pressed a hand to her chest, dully noting the ache that pushed back.

Heaving a big sigh, Marinette sat up and blinked a few times for her eyes to adjust to the dim light filtering through her skylight. The skin around her eyes was slightly puffy from crying, but nothing a few dabs of concealer couldn’t fix. Hopefully.

_Alya has eyes like a hawk, so maybe I’ll do full face makeup today._

With this in mind, the female crawled down from the bed, (snagging the neatly ironed uniform from its hanger hooked on the bedpost), and made her way to the bathroom to get ready for the day. When she had showered and dressed, true to her word to applying full face makeup, she snuck back to her room to find Tikki waiting by her school bag.

The kwami looked at her with apprehension.

“Marinette, we need to talk about last night.” Tikki said firmly, crossing her arm-like appendages. Because of her small stature, she made for almost a laughable sight if not for the serious nature of her words.

“There’s nothing to discuss, Tikki. I was just stressed and Chat made it worse by mentioning working with someone else as a civilian. That’s all.” Marinette ducked around the little creature to grab her bag, purposefully avoiding eye contact as she spoke. She recalled Tikki once telling her that eyes betray the truth, so she should always look at someone head on when talking to see if they are lying or not.

“No, that’s not all, Mari. You _cried_. I know it has something to do with the fight between you and Chat Noir.” Tikki insisted, moving to block access to the trapdoor handle. “I feel everything you feel when transformed, and it wasn’t just stress.”

_She’s not budging on this, is she?_

“Well, my feelings are dumb and so are you if you believed them.” Marinette retorted weakly, glaring at her character shoes. “I need to leave for school.”

“Now you are just being childish. And you are not leaving this room until we talk about last night.” Tikki was resolute. “We both know that you have feelings for Chat Noir, and I know first-hand how you get when his female fans get too snug with him.”

“I—”

“You may think you protect him inside the mask, by keeping him by your side _only_ , but outside the mask is different. You both make your own decisions, and he seems to have made his. Tell me I’m wrong.”

Marinette tried her hardest to not recoil at Tikki’s accurate observation, however vague it was. Although it stung, she was right. Chat Noir was never hers to begin with and no amount of jealousy or tantrums could change that.

_What I did last night was selfish._

**_I_ ** _was selfish._

He was only trying to help them both and the situation at hand by taking action in his civilian form and teaming up with someone else to investigate what happened to Kim and Ivan.

And Marinette scolded him for it.

_But…_

“You’re not, Tikki.” Marinette admitted. “But that’s not the whole picture either.”

Tikki’s gaze softened when she saw the raw look on the female’s face. “Then what is, Marinette.”

Marinette played with the hem of her shirt, hesitant at voicing her real concerns to the kwami. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she met Tikki’s stare with a heartsick one of her own.

“Its just…well, I’m hurt that someone else caught his eye, and not me. We’ve known each other so long that I figured we’d eventually end up together, and I defended this notion by making sure no one else could get close to him in the mask. So when Chat Noir told me he found this girl, and talked so fondly of her, it made me angry.” Marinette bit her lip, the fire in her stomach spreading to her lungs.

She waited for the suffocating feeling to subside before continuing.

“And then he even told me she reminded him of _me_. How am I supposed to interpret that? It was like getting told that I wasn’t good enough for him, but the girl who reminded him of me was. Like giving someone a gift only for them to return it in exchange for something similar to the original.”

Tikki nodded sympathetically, smiling sadly at her.

“I think he meant that he found someone with a good heart like yours. It was a compliment, sweetheart.”

Marinette silently agreed with Tikki’s insight, suddenly abhorred by her actions from last night. A despicable sensation crashed over her, like she had just been covered in acid and it was eating through her skin, her muscle, only to congeal itself around her bones and harden so she couldn’t tear it off. It felt worse than guilt, but lighter than heartbreak. There was no word that could possibly label the sensation and Marinette just had to live with it for now until it faded.

Tikki was alarmed.

“Marinette, what is it?!” She trilled, flying up to her face and cradling one of her cheeks.

“…I can’t believe I was so horrible to him. I’m a horrible friend.  Tikki, I’m a horrible friend.” Tear pinpricked at her eyes, but Marinette refused to cry. She could cry and cry and cry _and cry_ about how lowly she is; but, as the philosopher Heraclitus once said, _the sun is new each day, but sadness will stay the same_ and she will not cry over the same sadness she felt yesterday as she does now.

_I don’t deserve to._

“Marinette, just because you did something bad doesn’t make you a bad person.” Tikki attempted to comfort her, “You are not horrible.”

 _Yes I am_ , she wanted to explain _, I’m a horrible friend because I was horrible to him and I realize this. But, just because he likes someone else, my feelings for him will not just disappear, and thus the jealousy I harbor will not either. I can’t tell him about my feelings for him because it would further complicate the situation, and we already have something much bigger and more important to worry about._

As wise as Tikki is, she would never understand what Marinette truly meant by her words.

Putting on a strong face, Marinette lifted her trapdoor open and went downstairs; past the kitchen where her mother was cooking breakfast, past the bakery where her father was taking care of early bird orders. It was only halfway to the school when the heroine realized something.

Chat Noir is shy, but his shyness did not make him a coward.

Ladybug is brave, even to the point of reckless abandon, but what she did made her a coward.

_Thursday Afternoon – Lunch Break_

“Girl, I know I’ve asked you this a hundred times since yesterday, but are you okay?” Alya asked around a mouthful of _Bruschetta de Flageolets_ , balsamic vinegar dribbling down the corner of her mouth. “You barely touched the _salad Niçoise_ my mom made for you.”

Marinette, who had been distractedly watching Adrien chat with Nino and Lila across the courtyard, snapped her attention back to her worried friend. They were seated on one of the newly installed benches that happened to be beneath a tree in the school courtyard, having thought it was an appropriate setting to dine on the meals that Alya’s mother had so kindly delivered to them out of the blue.

(Though the ravenette knew it was because Alya had begged her to make Marinette’s favorite lunch to try to cheer her up).

Marinette picked up her napkin and reached to clean the vinegar from Alya’s chin, causing her friend to giggle.

“I’m fine, Alya. I just have a lot on my mind right now.” She resigned herself to watching Adrien again, smiling emptily to herself when she saw he had lit a cigarette and was now shamelessly smoking in front of their lunch monitor, Ms. Mendeleiev.

The professor looked furious, but knew better to hold her tongue with Adrien.

Alya followed her stare and laughed easily.

“Is that why you keep watching Adrien? I thought you were saving yourself for Chat Noir.” Alya nonchalantly stuck a fork in Marinette’s salad, hiding her smirk behind the piece of lettuce.

Marinette blanched and blushed hard at her friend’s implication.  Only Alya knew of her adoration for Chat Noir and absolutely loved teasing her about it every chance she got. The teen tried to look amused by the redhead’s attempt at romantic humor, but the look she was giving ended up being pained.

“I did, too.” She replied honestly, not noticing Alya drop the fork onto the autumn-leaf covered grass as she went back to staring at Adrien.

Adrien, dressed in the usual black leather jacket, chose to wear a short gray vest with a white-collared button up underneath it. The jeans he had on were gray-blue and tight, reaching just where his black oxford shoes started. Before, he always wore a white tee and ripped gray jeans with torn up converse.

She absently wondered what had changed.

Adrien caught her staring and grinned. He too had noticed the funk Marinette was in, but knew that there was caution tape surrounding the subject that only Alya dared to cross, so he left it at that. Instead, he subjected her to endless unfunny and suggestive jokes until either Nino or Alya would have to threaten him to stop.

That, at least, got her to smile and laugh.

_Friday Night_

Tikki tutted at the menacing clouds overhead from her alcove in the pocket of Marinette’s red trench coat, poking her head out to glare at the foreboding weather. Thunder shook the darkened windows of the Dupain-Cheng bakery, prompting Marinette to retreat farther under the establishment’s decorative awning. A heavy gust of wind disturbed the high ponytail she had tied her impossibly frizzy hair into, the promise of rain not far behind.

“We should really wait inside for Adrien, Mari!” Tikki hissed, glancing at the bakery doors.

“Shh! Someone might see you! Besides, my parents would only ask more questions if they saw Adrien come in _alone_ , given that I told them I was going out with _friends_.” Marinette pushed the kwami back into her hiding place just as a couple giggling and holding hands rushed by them, giving the teen a strange look in passing.

Oh, well.

“Well, it’s getting dark, so he better hurry up.” Tikki continued to fret, shivering slightly from her chosen’s cold fingertips.

Night was falling faster than usual because of the gloomy weather, along with the temperature. Marinette regretted turning her nose up at her old blue jeans in favor of wearing the black tights that matched her red ankle boots. Unfortunately, where her tights lacked in warmth, so did her coat; the inside of the trench coat was lined with silk, not felt, which failed at trapping heat.

 _I’m going to freeze for the sake of fashion._ She thought ruefully, squinting as another big gust of wind swept across the street.

More pedestrians hurried by them as the minutes ticked by, all of them having enough sense to seek shelter from the impending storm. In no time Marinette was the only one left standing on the corner, save for a patrolling police woman who had stopped on the opposing street corner to smoke a cigarette. Despite being Ladybug herself, it was oddly comforting to know she was in safe company in case it grew too late and the Friday night crowd took to the pavement.

Marinette had already locked eyes with the woman twice by the time a dark green Renault duster pulled up to the curb near the bakery. The heroine tensed, warily watching the figure behind the vehicle’s tinted windows as the car engine was killed. When the side door opened and revealed the figure to be Adrien, she immediately relaxed; the police woman was now watching them with interest.

Marinette began walking to the car, shouting a stiff ‘hey’ in greeting.

“Hey, sorry for the wait, my father was bein’ a pain in the ass.” Adrien apologized, meeting her halfway.

“It’s fine; at least you got here before I turned into a human popsicle.” She brushed his excuse aside, taking a brief survey of his person.

His hair was parted on one side of his forehead and smoothed back into tasteful blonde waves that tapered into a low buzz cut which perfectly showed off his ear piercings. He had zipped up his leather jacket partway to his chest, enough so that his V-neck gray shirt was still visible.  

_How can someone still manage to get a tan in October, when it’s the middle of autumn?_

_Models._ A voice whispered back like it was the most obvious answer.

Much to her inner fashionista’s delight, Adrien had chosen to wear ripped denim jeans to offset the blending of neutral colors, which flared out around his black combat boots. All in all, a good look to slip into an adult bar unnoticed.

…unlike her rather _noticeable_ appearance.

 _Well, shit_.

Something in her gut told her that Adrien would not be too happy if she went back inside to change.

“Too bright of a color?” Marinette asked upon seeing the odd look the male was giving her.

“Yeah, but don’t worry about it. We should go now, the bar is kind of far from here.” Adrien quickly ushered them into the car, shoving the key into the ignition and impatiently running his fingers along the steering wheel as the engine roared to life.

No sooner had Marinette buckled herself in the seat, they were speeding away from her home and into the murky dusk. Unlike the methodical and careful driver she had been taught to be by her father, Adrien was the exact opposite. He threw caution to the wind as he weaved in and out of traffic, going above the speed limit and slamming the brakes when they came across a traffic light. If Marinette was normally a klutz on two legs, that made Adrien a total disaster behind the wheel. 

Instead of watching the dizzying scenery zip by in the passenger window, she took the liberty of inspecting the car’s interior. Its sleek design and touch-screen radio indicated right away it was an expensive model, and judging by its contemporary appearance, a new one at that. There were mint and pine candle clips attached to the air vents above the front console, so the scent of stale cigarettes was faint. Everything in the vehicle was so pristine and clean-shaven, one would have thought the owner was a ghost.

_He’s going to be if he keeps driving like this!_

“I thought you had to be 18 to legally apply for a license and drive a car?” Marinette pointed out as they rounded a particularly narrow corner.

Adrien glanced at her in the rearview window before shrugging.

“And?”

“And you have been driving to school since the beginning of the year. _Illegally_.”

“My birthday is next week, darlin’, its not that big of a deal.”

Marinette started and gave him a sharp look.

“This is news. What day is your birthday?” _And why didn’t you tell me?_

“’The hell you looking at me like that? It’s on Monday, yah know, the 20th.” Adrien grumbled, screeching to a stop at yet another red light.

_Wait that’s…Chat Noir’s birthday too._

Marinette felt her stomach plummet.

“Oh.” She hadn’t given her partner much thought that evening until then, too distracted by their plans.

_Chat Noir._

_We never did make plans to hang out on his birthday, not that it matters._

_There is too much to do now as it is._

Marinette fiddled with her hands, violently repressing all the memories and emotions she had been wallowing the past couple days. Right now, her sole focus was the crime scene and Adrien Agreste. She could lament over Chat Noir when she was alone, in the safety of her room.

_Adrien needs Marinette’s help right now, not her drama and baggage._

If Adrien noticed the drop in her mood, he didn’t say anything.

Lifting her head, Marinette had not noticed they entered a seedier part of Paris until the car lurched to a stationary position on uneven cement beneath a flickering street light, Adrien announcing unceremoniously: “We’re here!”

She shot him a skeptical look as they both got out of the car, taking great care to step over the cracks in the pavement. The area they were in was small and crowded with buildings, most of them being rundown warehouses that were transformed into nightclubs. Judging by the amount of shady people already loitering outside the establishments and the loud music that could be heard beyond the thresholds, this was definitely not a place for adolescents to be.

 _Yet, here we are._ She thought ruefully, pursing her lips.

Marinette made her way over to where Adrien stood, trying to ignore the way the claps of thunder overhead and the screams seeping from the nightclubs around them sounded alike.

“Is this the place?” She addressed the unsuspecting building in front of them, gaze snagging on the open space between itself and an abandoned duplex on the other side. 

“The one and only.” He replied, eyeing her sideways.

The structure was made up of a jumble of red and tan brick, with a stone staircase leading to the bar’s entrance. On a huge, rectangular window off to the side of the entrance displayed the bar’s open and close times, along with a distorted view of the contents behind the hazed glass. There, above the window and entrance, read the name of the bar in neon red cursive:

 _Dust Devil_.

“Interesting name.”

“Yep. Shall we go in?” Adrien held out the crook of his elbow for her to take, astonishingly.

Marinette arched a brow at this gesture.

“I don’t know if this is the right time or place to be a gentleman, Adrien.” She told him bluntly, searching his face for any sign of illness. “Are you feeling okay?”

She placed a hand on his forehead to check his temperature. It felt cool to touch from the humidity.

“For safety purposes, darlin’. Plenty of assholes around here know my face, and they’re goin’ to wanna know yours, too. For different reasons, I’d imagine.” Adrien reached up and enveloped her hand in his. “Not that I’d ever let that happen.”

This sent Marinette reeling backwards mentally, her insides heating up at his consideration.

_That’s…actually pretty sweet of him._

She peered at their interlocked hands.

_And this is kind of intimate._

Something pleasant and warm settled in her chest, in spite of the chilly weather.

To hide her discomposure, Marinette swiftly curled a hand around the hardened muscle of his upper arm and the other in the steeple of his elbow.

“F-Fair enough. If shit hits the fan, you’ll be the one people will hit because you’re taller, at least.” She mumbled, pulling them stiffly forward.

Adrien laughed at this as they ambled up the steps, a smile dangling from the corner of his lips.

“Oh, the fuckers would never get the chance.” He mused, pushing open the door so they could enter.

Once inside, there were three things that stood out to Marinette.

One: It was desert themed, with goddamn cactus-shaped string lights outlining the perimeter of the ceiling.

Two: Every piece of furniture, that including the bar and stools, appeared sanded and rustic (much like if they were hit by an actual dust devil).

Three: There was a legitimate jukebox tucked away in a corner by the elevated bar.

_Now the name makes sense._

Adrien maneuvered them around numerous gruff looking patrons who laughed merrily and drank from dark bottles she could only assume was alcohol. Exhausted wait staff buzzed around the room taking orders and balancing platters, some of them even waving to them in recognition. As they drew closer to the main bar, her ears picked up soft, twangy music emanating from the jukebox in a language Marinette did not quite understand.

Her stomach was doing flips of impressive feats by the time they situated themselves on barstools, arms still entwined. Now that they were higher up from everyone else, she was sure that more than a few people were watching them. Their dubious stares dug into her back like thorns. She opted to ignore them for the sake of acting natural.

“So, who do you know here again?” She asked, staring at the vast assortment of liquor on the wall across from them. “The owner, I hope?”

_The smell of alcohol is so strong, it’s making me nauseous._

“Sort of. The owner’s daughter is a bartender here, and a talented one at that. She’s also a fan of mine, not surprisingly, which comes in handy if I need favors.” Adrien winked, flashing an arrogant grin. “Such as this one.”

Marinette decided she disliked the implications behind his words.

_I’ll ask him about it later._

“Okay…?” The heroine gave their busy bartender a deadpan expression. Although they had their back to the counter, she could tell it was a woman because of how petit their build was. There was something naggingly familiar about the way the woman’s blonde hair was done up in twintails.

_It almost reminds me of…_

The woman turned around, and Marinette was shocked to see a familiar face.

_Aurore Beauréal!_

After the Stormy Weather incident, Aurore transferred out of their school and hadn’t been seen since. She never tried to pursue her passion for meteorology, Alya had told her once, because no news channel wanted to put an akuma victim in the impressionable and influential position of weather girl. It had infuriated Marinette at the time, but there was nothing to be done about the judgement of others.

Aurore’s glacial blue eyes brightened when she saw Adrien, nearly dropping the mixer she had been shaking to greet him.

“Adrien! What the hell are you doing here so early? Let me finish this order, and then we can talk in my dad’s office.” She inclined her head to a sharply dressed woman sitting at the end of the bar.

“Sounds perfect. This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, by the way. You used to go to Collège Françoise Dupont with her…”

Aurore inspected Marinette with an insightful stare, lingering on their interlocked arms. She smiled haughtily, and reached under the counter without breaking eye contact.

“I might have seen you around, Marinette. You were the do-gooder, right?” Aurore was nonchalantly pouring the concoction from the mixer into a martini glass, the fruity-alcoholic fragrance filling the air between them. Marinette felt her stomach roil in disgust from the strange beverage, face pinching into a grimace.

_I feel a gag coming on._

“Well, yes? If that’s what you want to call doing the right thing.”  She leaned away from Aurore and the martini, pressing firmly against Adrien’s side in the process. The scent of leather and sweet cigars infiltrated her nostrils, and the teen gladly embraced this change.

“Yeah…excuse me for a moment.” Aurore pasted on a friendly smile before bringing the martini over to the business woman. While they were conversing, Adrien looked down at her expectantly.

His eyebrows started to wiggle insufferably.

“If you wanted to cuddle, you could of at least waited until we were alone, darlin’.” He patted her hand fondly, smirking.

“Oh, but it’s more exciting this way…” Adrien faltered for a moment, and she chuckled. “Kidding! The smell of alcohol makes me sick to my stomach, and that martini didn’t help anything—hey, quit giving me that look!” Marinette swatted his arm, the smile she had on betraying her true thoughts.

Adrien coughed and turned his face away, the tips of his ears going crimson. Making him flustered was certainly not her intention, but the results were fruitful.

“Uh, I’ll keep that—um, in mind next time we, well, go out.” He mumbled to his hand, and Marinette pinked at the suggestion.

_‘Go out’…he means to like another outing to look for leads to the culprit?_

_Yeah._

“Are you jokers done? If you are, then feel free to follow me to the office, it’s ‘round back.” Aurore suddenly materialized next to Marinette, lightly laying a hand on her shoulder. Through the fabric of her coat, she could feel how icy Aurore’s hands were. It reminded her of Stormy Weather’s cold winds. “Unless, of course, you need a few more minutes.”

Aurore tightened her grip on Marinette’s shoulder, leering at Adrien in a knowing way. She noticed the slope of his jaw clenched almost imperceptibly.

_What was that about?_

“Fuck off, we’re right behind you.” Adrien shoved off his stool, jerking Marinette off of hers as well. The weight of other’s gazes did not stop dragging at her back until the creaky wooden door of the office shut behind them.

Aurore sauntered around the desk towards the back of the small room and flopped down in a worn leather armchair. She gestured to the loveseat placed directly across from the desk, suddenly serious. Marinette noted the open laptop off to the side of the blonde and the scatter of Manilla folders beneath where she had rested her hands. It all seemed very official.

When they took their seats, Aurore spoke to them in a whisper.

“A friend of a friend managed to smuggle me copies of the main case files. Mostly photographs of the alley right after the attack, but feel free to read the descriptions too.” Aurore slid the files over to Adrien.

Marinette watched as Adrien began to open the first folder, but almost immediately after a manicured hand slammed down to keep the flap shut. Tikki shifted in her coat pocket, probably as startled as she was by the sudden noise.

“What the hell, Aurore?!” Adrien exclaimed, emerald eyes flashing in warning. “What’s your deal?”

“Before you open them, explain to me why you brought Marinette Dupain-Cheng with you.”

“She’s—” Adrien started to explain, but Marinette briskly cut him off.

“I’m here to help. Adrien asked for my aid, so now I’m here. You can trust me.” Marinette smiled at Aurore reassuringly, employing the same tone that Ladybug used to calm down civilians.

Aurore looked to Adrien to confirm, who nodded with contempt. Her hand retracted back to her side.

“Fine. Whatever.” Aurore waved her hand, giving them permission to proceed with the files.

The duo secretly glanced at each other with triumphant simpers.

They both then endeavored to comb through the files, bouncing comments off the other occasionally. Many of the photos depicted remnants of the encounter; most notably, the small blood splatters on the ground and a demolished dumpster. From the substantial damage done to the dumpster, Marinette was sure it was an akuma’s doing. Though, she dare not voice this assumption to the others.

As Marinette was scanning the last file over, one photograph in particular snagged her attention. It was apparent that it was taken by a phone camera, given the elongated stature of the picture and poor resolution. Yet, it was the only one of its kind compared to the professionally snapped photos stapled around it, which made it suspicious. The image exhibited a small group of indistinguishable figures crowded in an alley from afar, but that’s all that could be made out. Beside the photo was a neatly printed comment that said _“Nearby witness was able to capture all four attackers on camera. Their identities are still unknown”_.

Marinette was in shock. There were not one, but four attackers?! How could that be?

_That is so vile! Poor Kim and Ivan…it wasn’t even a fair fight._

_I need to tell Tikki about this as soon as possible. Chat Noir definitely needs to know, too._

“A-Adrien…look.”

Marinette brandished her find to Adrien, who hastily inspected the report. All the color drained from his face.

“Aurore, what the hell is this?!” Adrien thrust the offending file to her. “Why the hell did you not tell me sooner?!”

“Hey, calm down! I figured it would be better to let you find out on your own, okay?” The bartender typed something on her laptop, pushing the file away.

“You wanted me to find out that my two friends got their asses handed to them by four goddamn people _on my own_?! Don’t you think that is kind of a bad move?!” Adrien seethed, crossing his arms. Marinette winced at his harsh wording, her own anger starting to surface.

“Okay, when you put it that way, yeah it was a bad idea.” Aurore admitted and turned the laptop to them to reveal a video recording. Adrien stilled beside her.

“What is that?” Marinette asked curiously, trying her best not to sound irritated. “And why are you showing it to us?”

“It’s the security feed from the night Kim and Ivan were attacked. We have a camera in the alley way, but there’s no audio and there’s a huge shadow over the fight from the building. But, it’s the best close up you’re going to get.” Aurore replied somberly, gaze flickering to Adrien. “I didn’t want to show it to you until you fully had a grasp on the situation. Just watch it and I’ll explain everything else.”

Adrien said nothing as he reached over and pressed the play button. Marinette watched with horror and disgust at the scene that unfolded in the video. Kim and Ivan were thrown around the alley way by four figures until a smaller but commanding figure held up a hand for them to stop. The video may have been darkened, but she recognized the build of the akuma to be feminine. The last thing to be caught by the film before the group vanished into the night was that all of them were wearing the color orange.

_But why? Why Kim and Ivan? And why did they all have orange on?_

_This just brings about more questions that have no answer._

Adrien shut the laptop with a glower.

“Explain.” He barked at Aurore.

“Gladly. My guess is there’s a new gang in town, and this was their entrance. This could be interpreted as a warning, but I think their actions were too specific. If I were you, I’d watch your back, Adrien.” Aurore rested her chin on her steepled hands, pausing so the information could digest.

 _An akumatized gang leader with willing cronies, huh?_ She pondered morbidly.

Hawkmoth had certainly gained an edge to his plans on obtaining their miraculouses. It was brilliant and meant trouble for both Ladybug and Chat Noir. They would definitely have to be more vigilant than ever, for there could be eyes everywhere.

“Do you know anything about them? Besides what you already told us and what we’ve seen?” Marinette blurted out, a sinking feeling in her chest.

Aurore shrugged and shook her head.

“I know that when the news channel and media outlets find out about this, they’ll blow it way out of proportion. I also know that, for some ungodly reason, that blame is being pinned on Ladybug and Chat Noir. Whoever is spinning rumors like that must be good to turn people against our damn saviors of France.”

“Yeah, well, they’re a damn idiot if they believe that this is Ladybug and Chat Noir’s fault. I know Chat Noir would never allow such violence to persist.” Adrien said with a flourish. “He would give his life to protect the people of France.”

“Exactly! Ladybug has done so much for Paris and its people, so why would she ever allow something like this to happen? She would kneel over and die before she would willingly let someone else get hurt.” Marinette had felt the burning desire to defend her alternate persona, and Adrien’s fierce claim gas-lighted a fire inside her.

_I wonder if he’s a fan of his._

Their gazes met and something secretive yet intangible passed between them, like an understanding of some sort that both receiving ends could not make heads or tails of. It was extremely gratifying and alleviated some of the pressure on both their shoulders.

Aurore stared at them in near disbelief before coughing loudly to get their attention.

“It’s getting late and I don’t want to keep you guys long. Normally, I would let you stay, but in light of recent events I cannot.” She held up a hand as Marinette and Adrien stood to leave.

“I meant what I said, though. Watch your back, Adrien. As for you, Marinette, I hope you understand what you’re getting yourself into.”

Marinette looked up at Adrien. “I do.”

“Good. It would be a shame if you got those nice hands of yours dirty.” Aurore responded cryptically, and Marinette raised a brow at the metaphor. Adrien gave Aurore a mildly threatening glare.

_What is it with these people and metaphors?_

She chose to let it go for now and they left Aurore standing in the doorway.

Outside, it had already begun to sprinkle.

They were almost to the car when Aurore shot out of Dust Devil and yelled after them.

“Hang on! One more thing I forgot to tell you! Those bastards in the video, the people around here have given them a name.” The petit blonde flitted over to them, quickly checking the area before whispering

“Vixens.”

 

Adrien walked Marinette to her door, even though it was pouring rain outside.

“You okay?” She placed a hand on his back, concerned for his mental health after their rollercoaster of a night.  He had been quiet the entire car ride back.

“Yeah…” Adrien let out a shaky sigh. “Yeah, thanks for asking. Are you okay?”

“Me? I just feel sad for Kim and Ivan. Whatever happens to those people that attacked them, I hope it’s well deserved.” Marinette replied softly, unconsciously moving her hand down Adrien’s shoulder and resting it on his forearm.

Adrien suddenly grabbed her hand on brought it to his lips, kissing her knuckles tenderly. Marinette yelped and pulled her hand from his grip, a blush dusting her cheeks.

“What was that for?!” She demanded, thoroughly surprised.

Adrien cracked a genuine smile and took a few steps back.

“Thanks for coming with me tonight. I mean it.” He smirked, and added, “That hand kiss was me showing my gratitude, by the way. Text you later.”

With that, Adrien dissipated into the rain, leaving Marinette to wonder what the hell that made their relationship. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! WHat a trip, amiright?? For those who are confused, it will all make sense in the end, so don't worry.  
> Next chapter, I probably won't delve into the apology scene between Ladybug and Chat Noir because thinking of how to execute that scene is EXHAUSTING and slows down the plot. Too many irons in the fire for me, yah know? (Let me know if you want me to write a little something-something on Adrien's birthday tho, which in the canon is in fact on October 20th.) 
> 
> ALSO!!! Kim and Ivan get released from the hospital, let's see what they have to say ;)
> 
> I'm sorry if this chapter was a mess or trash, I really try my best to make it clean cut and enjoyable. Don't hesitate to point out an grammatical errors or syntax lapses or punctuation problems.

**Author's Note:**

> Well. That was fun. Please, please, please! give me feedback if you like the AU! I won't put in the time and effort to continue a work that has too little of an audience, (maybe I will idk but either way.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, and please, feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
> 
> (Edit: I didn't mean to sound rude about this, oh my gosh, I realize I came off as indifferent. What I'm meaning to say is you don't have to comment, but they are greatly appreciated :) )


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